New Zealand: Trip of a Lifetime-Hooker Valley Track

Preparing for this trip, understandably, I read a lot about hiking possibilities on both islands. This particular hike appeared time and again as one that is the most "bang for your buck" type of hike. 

We woke up rather early this chilly morning, checked out from our rental cottage and drove a few minutes to the trailhead. The goal was to start it early to avoid all the crowds which, we were told, arrive later in the day, especially with the tour buses. 

The track was pretty flat but LOOK AT THIS VIEW!!!

Wherever you looked, you could see the mountains, the valleys, the rocks, streams and rivers. 

One of the many selfies. 

They do have a limit to who how many people can be on these swinging bridges at the same time. 

I love this picture of Mark! 

The hike was around 6.5 miles roundtrip. 

But it went really fast as the trail was not strenuous. 

We managed to get a picture on an almost empty bridge.

And I love this picture of Katya. 

Another bridge. 

The walk through the valley was so peaceful. 

And getting to the final destination where we could turn around was a great reward! 

The views here were simply outstanding! 

And I love this picture of Alex!

Mark should try modeling.

We had a nice rest here, had a good snack and then headed back. This trail is out and back kind of trail, but still soooo worth it! Wonderful for the kids! 

This was a nice finale for our Mt. Cook area exploration. Our next stop was only 1 hour and 15 min away at Lake Tekapo. We actually scheduled in a relaxing rest day of sort, to do some laundry and watch a movie. Long international trips like this require some downtime especially when we have a lot to see in very few days. At Lake Tekapo, we stayed at a house that had nice bedrooms and a great kitchen, so we made dinner at home after getting more food at the grocery store, watched a movie and had Katya teach us how we are supposed to drink milk through Tim Tams--cookies she had in Romania on her mission. It was fun to find them (and lots of British stuff!) in New Zealand. 

To Be Continued...