Aoraki

I think it’s getting easier to get up early. The alarm was at 5.45am for a 6.15am departure. It certainly helped that the sunrise shoot was only 40 minutes away.

We went back to the location we scouted last night; the east shore of Lake Pukaki. There were nine of us there, and we spread out soon enough under the watchful eyes of a herd of cows which came to see what we were up to.

I wandered around the edge of the lake, and kept going. That feeling of wanting to know what’s around the next corner. Always.

With the sun coming up, the light hit parts of the mountains. Other parts remained clouded in mystery.

I could have spent more time there. It’s an incredibly beautiful spot; hardly visited. And for a while, it was just me, the sound of ripples and a few birds. So peaceful.

I walked back to meet the others and pottered on the beach, looking at the rocks and the strata.

Too soon, it was time to go. I stayed back a few minutes and took in the view in solitude.

We were back in Twizel by 9am. On the way, we passed a small arm of the lake where the water is a deep glacial blue. Think blue Gatorade.

Breakfast time! We went to Poppies again. All very tasty – smoothies, tea, flat whites, muesli, poached eggs on toast. There was a fire on, and it felt so cozy that a few of us stayed behind. Our photographic leader offered constructive critiques on Andy’s landscape images. We all learnt a lot from that session.

With a couple of hours to kill before we set off again, we chilled in our room and then went off to explore downtown Twizel. We went to Shawtys for lunch (Twizel’s best restaurant according to Lonely Planet) and as the weather’s nice, we sat outside for our golden harvest soup – a thick root vegetable soup which was very tasty. We made a quick dash to the supermarket to see what we could get for our picnic for later.

We drove to Mt Cook Village, and parked the car at the beginning of the Hooker Valley walk – yes, the very walk we did a few weeks back. But today, we had a lot more time. Andy and I kept a steady pace, and had time to enjoy the walk. It’s beautiful; most of the track is through alpine tussock. And it was much less crowded and windy than last time we were here. We followed the Hooker River for a while. The water has this odd light milky grey colour. I learnt that this comes from the ‘suspended glacial rock flour in the meltwater’.

When we got to the glacier lake, we were surprised to see that the iceberg was further away, back next to the glacier. And there were bits of ice scattered throughout the lake. In the distance, I heard a couple of rumbles. A small avalanche or a carving maybe. From the shore, we have unobstructed views of Aoraki (Mt Cook).

Andy and I had some snacks and then I left him to it. He stayed back for sunset. I wanted to take my time, and I didn’t fancy the walk back in the dark. So off I went.

The journey back was so peaceful. Just me and the sounds of my feet on the track. The silence was deafening… until I heard another – louder – rumble. The echo was quite something. I continued on my walk taking a short detour to go and check out Alpine Tarn, which there was no time for last time. At first, I was disappointed but after climbing a few stones, I found the view – Mt Cook reflected in the tarn. I resumed my walk. It felt like a proper adventure. With the visibility dropping all the time, I picked up the pace and kept going; I had no torch with me. Suddenly the path was ‘lit’ again. I had turned a corner and the rest of my walk was by moonlight. The stars started to show and the first constellation I saw happened to be the Southern Cross. How fitting.

Back at the White Horse Hill campground/car park, I made for the communal area, and watched the last episode of The Replacement whilst waiting for the gang to return.

Once we got back to our chalet, Andy made us a snack and a cup of tea.

An early night; an early start tomorrow.