Surprising Views and Peaceful Get-Away

Arriving at your destination after dark, is always a risk … mostly due to worries about finding the right place OK.  However, it can be great fun to open up the blinds in the morning and see where you are?? The glaciated Hooker valley greeted us on a spontaneous trip to Aoraki / Mt Cook last week.

Making the most of a nice day, we hiked up to see the Hooker Glacier.  The scale of the valley is hard to describe, and photos do not do justice to the mountains.  The next photo shows the view down towards The Hermitage hotel, with the inset picture providing some context of scale.

The return hike from the campground at the end of the road, is just 12 km (7.5 mi), but included three swing bridges over the raw river roaring below, and many, many vantage points for fantastic views of Aoraki / Mt Cook – the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 3,724 m (12,218 ft) – it lost about 30-40 m during a major rockslide in 1991.

Still pictures don’t capture the ferocity of the river, but this short video clip helps make it more real:  Walk Over Suspension Bridge

We were fortunate to have spectacular weather, but noted that the sun was very strong (due to Ozone hole). Still it made the rugged peaks seem more vibrant.

But the best part for us was the waterfalls from the various glaciers that clung to the upper slopes, seemingly impossible not to slide off at any moment.

Dad’s Recommendation:

This trip was a spontaneous day away … because we had to postpone a longer Anniversary trip due to a family bereavement and subsequent funeral a week later. Considering the stress of life circumstances … the mountains seemed such a peaceful retreat, a welcome respite for those who are weary.  Whatever stress you have in your life … perhaps a trip to the mountains are in order.