Mountains and Lakes at Mount cook.

I love lakes. There’s something inherently peaceful about wandering along the shoreline of a lake; being able to look out across a vast body of water but still seeing land in all directions is somehow comforting to me. Lake Pukaki was a particularly good lake, surrounded by the drama of a rocky mountainous landscape, and when we were there dark cloudy skies provided shadow for the mountain range to shelter in painting them in deep blues and purples. The lake is too unpredictable for boats, so the whine of whirring engines was absent for once, leaving only the sound of the lakes water hitting the shore and the ever present wind streaming past. We made the most of the dwindling late afternoon light, and we explored near to where we’d parked up for the night and tried to capture the moment.

The next morning we moved on from our idyllic spot and made our way towards New Zealands most iconic mountain, Mount Cook (Aoraki in Te Reo Maori). To say the drive there was windy would be a vast understatement. Any conversation attempted by Ben was met with gritted teeth and noncommittal grunts from me, all my concentration taken up with trying to keep our home driving straight. We were buffeted and battered but in the end we made it, and then it started raining. Of course... we’d battled the elements to see a mountain that was no longer visible under the blanket of rain that was falling.

There was no point of heading to the campsite at the mountains base, so instead we headed to Mount Cook Village to check out the visitor center. It was very informative, not just detailing about the local area’s flora and fauna but it went into detail about Sir Edmund Hillary - a famous Mountaineer from New Zealand. For Avid hikers its worth popping in as they keep an updated chart of the accessible hikes, avalanche warnings and which routes are currently off limits.

The rain finally abated and we made our way over to the D.O.C campsite that we’d be spending the night at. It had more facilities than most, flushing toilets, a large kitchen area to cook food in - if you happen to own a portable stove - and best of all, views looking straight to Mount Cook and the Tasman Glacier. The views the first night, admittedly, were mostly of rain clouds, but they lifted the next morning giving us an impressive view. What the campsite lacked, however, was shelter from the wind. I have never felt so shaken, all night the van shuddered as the wind repeatedly slammed into our sides. It felt like at any moment the roof would be torn straight off, or we'd be whipped up into a spiralling wind tunnel reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz. Luckily, when we opened the curtains the next morning we were where we were supposed to be, and ready to go for a walk.

There was quite a few different hike options to choose from, some were simple and would be done in a couple of hours and others would take days and specialised equipment. We’re no mountaineers, that’s a fact, and it’s a fact I’m fairly happy with - so climbing to the summit was clearly off the table. That left us with quite a few options still, but looking out the window and seeing the lingering clouds and drizzle helped to narrow it down further.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t see the point expending a lot of energy climbing to a viewpoint that has a high possibility of being in grey and gloomy clouds, honestly, I would be more than annoyed. I don’t particularly like hiking up mountains, it makes my legs and hips hurt and I don’t enjoy being out of breath, however, I love the view from the top so some sacrifices need to be made. To put in the effort and pain and determination for nothing… that’s not a chance I’m willing to take. We settled on the easy walk.

The Kea Point Track walk was a simple hour of following a meandering path through subalpine grasslands until we reached the viewing point. From there, we were treated to stunning views of Mount Sefton, Mueller Glacier lake and Aoraki/Mount Cook. The peak of Mount cook was still shrouded in cloud but Mount Sefton’s snow covered peaks were clear. We spent a good twenty minutes trying to get some decent photos and admiring the view before we turned around and headed back to the van to make our way to Lake Tekapo. Sadly, despite the name, no Keas were spotted.

Lake Tekapo was another good lake, such a good lake in fact, that a small touristy village had popped up next to to lake - for all the people who like to come and look at it to stay in. I tend to be put off of places that are entirely based on tourism, so after grabbing a delicious lunch from the Better Batter NZ food truck, we got straight back on the road and headed off again. Feeling rather tired after our windy night we decided to head to another “in the middle of nowhere” campsites so we could try and get a peaceful nights sleep.

Feeling refreshed the next morning but still not in the mood for civilisation we trawled through the camping app looking for the perfect place to stay, and eventually (were very indecisive when it come to where to go) we came across Pioneer Park Campsite, a grass glade surrounded by woodland that seemed to be very rarely frequented - perfect! It was quite a long way down an unpaved narrow road, over two fords and then it opened up before us, a lovely grassy meadow and not a soul in sight. As we were the only ones there we managed to park up next to a picnic table and a fire pit, a rare occasion to be able to have both. While we still had the light we headed off over the stream and down one of the many woodland tracks to have a wander and collect some firewood. At night, the sky was free from all light pollution and the stars covered the sky, shining down just enough light for us to see a small possum scamper past and into a nearby tree.

It was beautiful and we would have stayed for longer had we not ran out of gas. This always seems to happen, we find somewhere we like and then we run out of something, gas, water, food. You’d think this would teach us to be more prepared but there’s only so many places to go in NZ to buy these things and they’re never where we happen to be! Luckily we had some firewood, Ben brought out his inner Bear Grylls and finished cooking our dinner over the fire. It was okay, macaroni pasta was never meant to be cooked over open flame to be completely fair, so although it sufficed, it just wasn’t an experience we wanted to repeat.. so the next morning we got up fairly early and made our way to the nearest town.

Trip date: May 2023