New Zealand Walk
Hooker Valley Track offers awe inspiring landscapes
A
very popular walk with both kiwis and overseas folk is the Hooker Valley Track, located in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in the Canterbury region. Once there one can enjoy the aweinspiring landscapes of the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana on one of New Zealands’s best day hikes - wind up the Hooker Valley past alpine streams and glaciers in the shadow of Aoraki/Mount Cook. There are views of Mueller Glacier, Hooker Lake and Aoraki/Mount Cook, as well as the Mount Cook buttercup, the world’s biggest but-
20 Walking New Zealand, issue no 281 - 2021
tercup. The track leads through the sacred Tōpuni area of the Hooker Valley, which has special significance and values to Ngāi Tahu iwi, towards Aoraki/Mount Cook. From the first of three swing bridges along the way, enjoy the views over the Mueller Lake and listen for the rumbling of avalanches from the distant Mount Sefton. You may be able to spot them before they crash into the Mueller Glacier below. After crossing the Hooker River, the track goes between old moraine ridges and humps. From the second swing bridge, www.walkingnewzealand.co.nz
