A question I’ve been asked since we returned is ‘What did I enjoy the most about New Zealand?’. Maybe a better question would be ‘What was the most amazing thing about the trip?’ I’d have to answer that it was a small country’s incredible variety of terrain and flora. There were mountains, rainforests, coastal bluffs, lakes, and fjords.

Here is a sample of the variety. I am going to break this into several posts. There is simply too much to tell you in one.

The second day of our tour with New Zealand Trails took us to Mount Cook. The scheduled hike was a steep trail up the mountain. Unfortunately, it was closed by the park because of dangerous conditions. The first rainfall of the season had fallen overnight bringing snow to the higher elevations. The trail would have been icy, slippery, and muddy.

Mount Cook

Our guides did a quick reset and it was decided to hike on the Hooker Trail. It’s part of the benefit of going with experienced guides who can turn on a dime when a change is needed to the itinerary.

Our hiking tour group ready to hike on the Hooker Valley Trail

You can see we are all decked out and prepared for cold and wet conditions. Our dog trainers say that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear. They never cancel a class. We were ready for the challenge.

Steve and I were prepared for the weather. Bring it on!

The overnight rain had not only coated the mountains with snow, it had also created multiple waterfalls coming down into the river.

Roaring River

I wish I could include the roar in this post!

We crossed several hanging bridges on our hike. I was careful not to cross at the same time as one of our group who liked to jump up and down while we were on the bridge.

The payoff was at the end where we saw icebergs that had broken off from the glacier into the lake at the end of the trail. You can see the waterfalls coming off the mountains.

The next day dawned bright and clear with blue skies. We could finally see the top of Mount Cook in the distance.

Mount Cook

Stay tuned for more adventure.