When we left Moke Lake, we headed straight to Mt Cook, hoping to beat the rain that would be soaking the area for the day.
The drive was long, but lovely with the gentle gold mountains around Lindis Pass.
But the real magic was when we turned off toward Mt Cook. Already, the clouds were filling in around the mountains and glacier, but it was still spectacular to see the entire approach, much of it along turquoise Lake Pukaki.
We arrived at White Horse Hill campsite, picked out a great spot looking up at the glacier, and ate some lunch.
Pretty much immediately after that, first gale force winds and later heavy rain arrived, causing us to lock ourselves in our van for the majority of the day.
We eventually braved the elements to run to the covered area to cook our dinner. The rain finally cleared around 7pm. Clouds were still heavy, but we had cabin fever, so we went on the short Kea Point track to stretch our legs.
The next morning, there was still some fog lingering, but we could see it clearing around Mt Sefton, so we went marching our way down the famous Hooker Valley track.
Clouds framed the pink and blue ice which was pretty spectacular.
We crossed some suspension bridges, climbed up to some viewpoints, enjoyed the cool morning air.
Then we turned a corner, and caught our first peak at Mt Cook, which was clearly about to be fully covered in fog.
And so, the rest of the hike was through a cloud. Occasionally, we could see the outlines of mountains through the fog, but more often, it was just a heavy gray.
We made it to the lake, the fog coming and going, teasing us with amazing views of Mt Cook, and then reforming and blocking it from sight.
This time, our patience paid off though, and after a half-hour freezing cold wait, it cleared completely.
We practically did the return backwards, taking in the sights we couldn’t see on the way there.
Also got a good after shot of Mt Sefton.
After that hike, we made the short drive over to the Tasman Glacier overlook track. We practically ran up the million stairs to the top, only to be a bit disappointed in what we saw compared to our hike we had just finished.
So we hurried back down and went on our way, watching crystal clear views of Mt Cook through our mirrors as we drove away.
I made Anthony pull over for “one last look” about five times, and then we were gone.
