My first visit to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park since 1999...
Karen and I visited Aoraki/Mt Cook as a part of our recent campervan holiday...we explored the area around the Hermitage and Whitehorse Campsite but we actually stayed down at the Glentanner Holiday Park as they had better facilities. I haven't been to Mt Cook for over 20 years..the last time I was here was in late 1999. I have long wanted to return but just never had the money or the right conditions to come down here with my family.
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| Aoraki/Mt Cook from SH 80- the Mt Cook Highway |
We went for a cruise around Mt Cook village in the van as Karen had not been there before. We didn't go into the Hermitage on the first day in Aoraki/Mt Cook as it was getting late in the afternoon and we wanted to get at least one track in while the weather was still good. We went to the hotel the next day and visited the cafe and museum located there. It was awesome and so very quiet....Covid-19 strikes again!!!
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| The Mt Cook Hermitage Hotel, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
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| The weather on day two at Mt Cook NP...lets be honest...crap!!! |
We parked at the car park for the Hooker Valley Track as the
Kea Point Track starts from the same location. You could see Aoraki/Mt Cook over the end of the moraine wall between the car park and the Mueller Glacial Lake. We were lucky to have such a beautiful clear day because they are rarities at Mt Cook especially as winter starts to roll in.
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| Aoraki/Mt Cook is just visible from Whitehorse Campsite |
It is just stunning at Aoraki/Mt Cook...the mountains are huge and tower over you wherever you are in the park. I love those golden grassy plains between the village and Lake Pukaki as well. I applied for a job working for DOC in the visitor centre a couple of years ago...I think I would have loved living here. I'm sure you would eventually get bored in this super remote place but my god imagine waking up to this vista everyday...
At the Whitehorse Campsite Shelter:
We drove down to the Hooker Valley carpark which is the start point for a number of tracks and the gateway to the DOC Whitehorse Campsite. It was moderately busy which surprised me. It was only a Wednesday but there are a lot of people travelling around the country at the moment..utilising those last golden days before the weather packs it in.
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| Mt Wakefield from the Hooker Valley car park |
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| The Sealy Range from the Hooker Valley carpark |
The start of the Kea Point Track is right next to the Whitehorse Campsite Shelter so we went inside to use the facilities and to have a look around. It is a very nice shelter with decent amenities for the people camping and staying in vans at the campsite.
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| Whitehorse Campsite Shelter, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
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| Tables and benches in Whitehorse Campsite Shelter, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
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| Cooking bench in Whitehorse Campsite Shelter, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
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| The Shelter is right next to Whitehorse Campsite, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
I would definitely use the shelter if I was ever camping at Whitehorse Hill...it would let you stretch your legs and get you out of the camper van or tent while still providing some shelter.
Kea Point Lookout Track:
The Kea Point Track is about 2.2 kilometers return and takes you up to a point on a nearby moraine wall where you can see the Hooker Valley, Mt Sefton and the Mueller Glacial Lake in close proximity. The track is nice...a bit rocky but a massive step up from your everyday tramping track. It is wide, flat and well graded and climbs about 120 meters over the length of the track.
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| Start of the Kea Point Track, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
This track is also the start point for both the Sealy Tarns and Mueller Hut tramps. Both of these are a much harder proposition than this gentle track...Sealy Tarns is 3 hours return and Mueller Hut is 3-4 hours one way.
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| The current Mueller Hut (V), Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
The current Mueller Hut is number five...I visited Mueller Hut IV back in the mid 1990's and I think it might have been the hardest tramp I have ever done. Mueller Hut is at nearly 1800 meters so you gain one kilometer of altitude over three km's. It is beautiful as heck with magnificent views of Mt Sefton and Aoraki/Mt Cook but it is steep as bro....steep!!!
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| ...also the track to Sealy Tarns and Mueller Hut, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
Kea Point track gradually climbs up through the Matagouri and alpine scrub and then crosses old piles of moraine deposited here when the ancient glaciers retreated from the area. That wasn't as long ago as you might think..you could still walk down onto Mueller Glacier from near Kea Point even in the late 1970's.
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| Kea Point Track goes through the Matagouri... |
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| ...and the Monkey Scrub...Kea Point Track |
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| There are a multitude of good tracks in Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
Mt Sefton is your constant companion once you round the old moraine piles and start the last kilometer of the track. It is one of the tallest mountains in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park and its cold, bleak faces stare down on you from on high.
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| Mt Sefton (3151) from the Kea Point Track |
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| View back down the Hooker Valley, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
The eastern side of Mt Sefton has remnant glaciers at the top and it produces a local climatic cooling effect to the whole valley. It is like stepping into a large commercial freezer once the sun goes down behind the mountains. We had to stop and put on warm tops halfway to the viewpoint as it was starting to get cold.
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| The track climbs the old moraine walls...Kea Point Track |
There is a lot of Spaniard growing up here above the 800 meter asl line...it was dotted around the moraine piles and along the track so you are going to get to see it up close and personal. There were also a lot of Mt Cook Lilies but without flowers as the summer blooms are now long gone.
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| A Spaniard plant along the Kea Point Track |
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| We are heading for the notch in the moraine wall...Kea Point Track |
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| Sefton Bivouac is on the point in the center of photo... |
The final section is climbing up over a lip in the moraine wall...the track was a bit rough through here so bear that in mind. You should never walk off the track in these old glacial areas..there are often hidden holes & caverns with a thin veneer of rock on top of them. This is caused by ancient ice melting under the rocks and leaving a void. It is super easy to accidentally fall into one of these and injure yourself.
Stay on the marked track folks...
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| Kea Point is the slight rise in the middle... |
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| The Kea Point Track is to a high standard... |
The view is the reason you would come up here...it is awesome.
To the west is Aoraki Mt Cook itself towering over the end of the Hooker Valley and Hooker Glacier. You can look down and into the lake at the base of the Mueller Glacier and the massive moraine wall 200 meters tall which sits about a kilometer off in the distance. The water in the lake is that cold glacial blue...magnificent.
To the south is the massive bulk of the Sefton Range with Mt Sefton at its center. If you sit here for long enough you might be able to watch a avalanche cascade down its side. Look for the tiny two person bivouac at the top of Point Piccolo. Sefton Bivy (1660 asl) is becoming a hut bagging legend as well as an entry point onto Mt Sefton itself. Only for experienced trampers with some mountaineering nous...
To the north is the mouth of Stocking Stream and the mid point of the Hooker Valley Track. That is backstopped by the rocky heights of Mt Wakefield (2058) visible from the car park.
Everywhere you look is amazing...
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| Aoraki/Mt Cook (3724) from Kea Point, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
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| Looking down to the mouth of Stocking Stream from Kea Point |
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| The distant moraine wall is 200 meters tall...Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
We were sitting on one of the benches DOC have installed up here and eating our lunch when we heard an almighty crack come down the valley. We couldn't see it but an avalanche had fallen off Mt Sefton and down onto the Mueller Glacier.
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| Mt Sefton dominates the Mueller River Valley |
I was slightly peeved by all the idiots who walked up the track and then jumped over the safety fences to take photos. What a bunch of numb nuts...the moraine face in front of the Kea Point viewing platform is easily 200 meters high. Big chunks of the wall fall away all the time. If you fell off you would most assuredly get 'squot like a pumpkin' as I am wont to say...
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| Looking back down the track from Kea Point |
None of them brought the farm while we were there but it wasn't from lack of effort. I think they are a bunch of fools and paltroons!!!
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| The tail of Mueller Glacier and the glacial lake, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
Mueller Glacial Lake, Hooker Valley, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP
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| The Hooker River flows off the end of the Mueller Glacial Lake |
We spent about 20 minutes sitting on one of the benches at Kea Point eating our very late lunch and having a look at the scenery. There are several bench seats and a raised viewing platform at Kea Point for this purpose. It was very beautiful but it started to get quite cold as the sun had gone down behind Mt Sefton and the glacial ice and snow on the mountains were acting like a giant refrigeration unit.
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| Kea Point Track drops back to the Whitehorse Campsite |
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| It was cold in the shade from the mountains, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
We packed up our gear and after one last look up the Hooker Valley we started back down the track to the White Horse Hill carpark. You go back on the same track and surprisingly we passed at least half a dozen people heading for the viewpoint even though it was heading towards dusk. You could walk this track after dark but only if you had a good headtorch as it is rocky and uneven in places.
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| You can just see the Hermitage in the middle distance |
We stopped at the turn off to Sealy Tarns/Mueller Hut to have a look at the track...looking up the visible course of the track we could see several people heading down the 2200 stairs you need to climb/descend on the way to the hut. They were a good kilometer above us so they were just moving dots high up the mountain ridge. I imagine they were day trampers on their way back after visiting either Sealy Tarns or Mueller Hut.
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| Intersection of Kea Point and Sealy Tarns/Mueller Hut Tracks |
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| It is 3-4 hard hours to Mueller Hut from here... |
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| Mt Sefton from the track junction, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
The Tasman Valley and the flats at the head of Lake Pukaki were shining in golden light as the sun slowly went down over the mountains. It really had been a perfect day to visit Aoraki/Mt Cook and we were so lucky to have struck the one good day in a week of cloud and rain.
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| The view down to the Tasman Valley...from Kea Point Track |
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| Well manicured track near Whitehorse Shelter, Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
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| Mt Wakefield recedes into shadow... |
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| Almost the whole course of Kea Point Track |
It was going on dusk as we reached the carpark and I could see a number of people inside the Whitehorse Hill Shelter cooking dinner and chatting to each other. There were a number of people coming off the end of the Hooker Valley Track..we are hoping to visit that track when we return to Aoraki/Mt Cook in June.
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| People were fixing dinner in Whitehorse Camp Shelter |
One of the classic long distance MTB rides starts from the Whitehorse Hill carpark...this is the
Alps2Ocean Track which goes from here right out to Oamaru over 300 km's away. It goes down the Pukaki Valley before going past Twizel, Omaramara, Kurow and along the Waitaki River Valley to the coast. Along the way you pass some of the big hydroelectric dams...Pukaki, Benmore, Aviemore and Waitaki.
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| I visited Aviemore Dam back in March |
I have an notion to do some long distance cycle touring and MTB riding has been one of my longstanding areas of interest. I would like to ride some of the rail trails and longer tracks like this one. We certainly saw a great many cycle tourists during this trip..I think late autumn and early winter are the main time they get out riding.
I guess I just need to organize something and get her done as they say...
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| Start of the Alps 2 Ocean MTB ride in Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
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| The start of the Hooker Valley Track from the car park |
Nobody broke into our van while we were away which was good. Car break-ins are an infrequent if growing problem especially at more remote tourist spots, track ends and parking areas. Your average camper van/trampers car is probably a good score for some scum bag as they will often contain money, cards, phones and computers all of which can be sold or used.
Some places are specifically excluded from insurance policies like the carpark at Lewis Pass Tarns and anywhere along SH73 over Arthurs Pass. Too many break-ins along those roads. You can mitigate your risk by not leaving attractive goods sitting on the passenger seat of your car or clearly visible to the criminal scum-arazzo who troll theses byways.
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| Our Jucy Van parked at Aoraki/Mt Cook NP |
We were staying that night at the Glentanner Holiday Park about 20 minutes drive back down the Mt Cook Road. We had thought to stay at the Whitehorse Hill Campsite but they had few amenities there. The campsite at Glentanner was more expensive but oh so much better...stay there if visiting the area.
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| A distant view of Aoraki/Mt Cook from Glentanner Holiday Park |
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| View of the Southern Alps from Lake Pukaki Dam |
We would have liked to visit a couple of other walking tracks in Aoraki/Mt Cook (Hooker Valley and Tasman Glacier) but the weather on the second day was not conducive to being outside. We went to the Old Mountaineers Cafe and the Ed Hillary/Climbing Museum instead.
Karen and I have booked a multi night stay at the Mt Cook Hermitage Hotel for early June so if the weather is even half way decent we intend to go for several walks in the area. Come back then to see what it was like...
Access: Mt Cook Village can be accessed along SH 80 (Mt Cook Road) from SH8 the Twizel-Tekapo Road. It is over 50 kilometers from the SH8 turn off to Mt Cook Village.
Track details: Kea Point Track is 2.2 kilometers return (1-1.5 hours) from the Whitehorse Hill car-park. It is another 45 minutes walk to the Hermitage hotel and Mt Cook Village
Miscellaneous: The DOC Whitehorse Campsite is at the start of the track with camper van sites and tent sites. There is a cooking shelter with water, gas hobs, benches and tables and an adjacent toilet block. It is 10 meters from the shelter to the start of Kea Point Track. This is a high alpine area so be prepared for all conditions and stay on the track at all times. Do not cross any safety fences as this is a dynamic glacial environment. There are multiple rock fall, fall and trip hazards.
