Exploring the Trails in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park with Heather Marston

Aoraki is one of my top three places in Aotearoa (along with Abel Tasman and Milford Sound). Every time I've been, I've had incredible weather (I don't want to jinx it). So when Heather Marston came on to talk about the trails around Mount Cook, it was such a fun conversation.

Heather grew up on the East Coast of the US, lived in London for a few years and moved to New Zealand a little over 20 years ago. She explores, photographs and writes about Aotearoa, all around a nine to five. She used to have a rule never to travel somewhere twice. But that went out the window, and now she goes back to her favourite places as often as she can.

We cover the lot, from 15-minute strolls to the overnight trip up to Mueller Hut. Plus where to stay, and a few walks to keep up your sleeve for when the weather has other ideas (I learnt some new ones myself). Go on, have a listen.

In this episode

• How Heather caught the travel bug
• The winter trip where nothing went to plan
• Hooker Valley Track in snow and ice
• Short walks for sunrise and sunset
• Sealy Tarns, Red Tarns and Mueller Hut
• Walks for a rainy day
• Where to stay in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park
• Planning around Mount Cook weather

How Heather caught the travel bug

Heather's family weren't globetrotters, but she got to experience a variety of travel from a young age. Every winter they'd road trip to the mountains to ski, renting a big ski house with family and friends for the week. There were holidays in the Caribbean too, where she climbed a huge waterfall in Puerto Rico and rafted down rivers in Jamaica by the age of 10.

Her first big international trip was a semester studying in London through her university's study abroad programme. It was huge and scary at the time, and she caught the travel bug pretty much instantly. After graduating, she moved back to London to travel around Europe more, then moved to New Zealand.

Because she works full time, she packs a lot into every trip. One of her most ambitious road trips started in Queenstown with a drive to Wānaka for Roy's Peak, which she finally climbed after being rained out a few times. Then Milford Sound, a cruise on Doubtful Sound (spectacular, and worth it, she says), and an overnight dash to Kaka Point for sunrise at the Nugget Point lighthouse. That last one might have been a little ambitious: it rained.

I'm yet to do Doubtful Sound, and that's another person telling me to go.

Next on her list is a road trip around the West Coast, which she hasn't explored yet, with a whole unhurried trip dedicated to it.

The winter trip where nothing went to plan

Heather's most memorable trip was a winter photography trip to Mount Cook with a friend coming over from Australia. They'd planned it around certain hikes and certain viewpoints at certain times, so the plans were pretty much set in stone.

Then the weather went crazy. The week before, there was so much rain that a slip blocked access, and they didn't know if they'd get there at all. A day or so before they arrived, there was a decent snowfall they weren't expecting, and the rest of the week was forecast for rain. They thought the trip was going to be a write-off.

Somehow, it all worked out. The fog would lift and the skies would mostly clear when they needed them to. They didn't get the sunrise and sunset shots they'd hoped for, the roads to some trails were closed and some trails were inaccessible. But Mount Cook National Park in the snow was incredible.

The fog would roll in in the late afternoon, and they'd think, game over for astrophotography. Then a couple of hours later it would clear, into the clearest night sky you could imagine. So they'd layer up again, find a spot not too far from the village and shoot in freezing temperatures for as long as their fingertips allowed.

"I felt like a big kid in the world's best playground."

There's something about that crisp air in winter, especially after snow, and I'm not a person who likes the cold. Heather put it perfectly:

"It is the air. The fresh alpine air. It's just almost therapeutic. … it's just such a calming kind of place to be."

Hooker Valley Track in snow and ice

Heather has walked the Hooker Valley Track several times, but in the snow and ice it was a completely different experience. On some sections she sat down and slid down the stairs on her bum. She was a little worried about embarrassing herself, but more worried about falling and breaking the camera gear on her back.

That walk was her favourite moment of the whole trip. Slipping and sliding along a snow and ice covered trail felt like an expedition, and their muscles felt it the next day.

They also took the little side trip to Hooker Hut, her first visit, following a couple of footprints and the trail markers sticking out of the snow. It's only a little loop off the main trail, but it felt so far away from everything. She kept falling into what she called the potholes: a few normal steps, then one that dropped you down into the snow. They hadn't booked the hut, because they wanted to stay flexible, but she'd love to go back and stay. She calls it the cutest hut.

For me, Hooker Valley is hands down New Zealand's best walk. I'm all about the views-to-effort ratio, and it's minimal effort for the most incredible views. Being the first footprints on that boardwalk after fresh snow is the dream.

Short walks for sunrise and sunset

A lot of travellers do a day trip to Mount Cook for the Hooker Valley Track, which is absolutely a must-do. But if you can stay a night or two, there are quite a few other walks that give you different viewpoints. Heather's picks for the light:

• Kea Point for sunset. A really short trail to a lookout.
• Tasman Lake for sunrise. Only 15 minutes to get there from the car park, then a little boulder scramble down to the lake's edge. The reward-for-effort ratio is right up there, and they got a couple of awesome sunrises there.
• Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View. A short, easy walk with a few stairs, up to an elevated viewpoint across the lake to the glacier. On the way you pass the Blue Lakes, nestled in the valley below. Fair warning: they're green.

My first time seeing the Blue Lakes was in winter, with a thin crust of ice across them, and people picking up massive sheets of ice and holding them up. Back in summer, they'd shrunk a bit and weren't blue at all. There are two places to view Tasman Glacier, one up at the top and one down closer to the water, and each gives you a different perspective.

Mount Cook really does have something for everyone, from the overnight trip up to Mueller Hut down to the 15-minute walks. And I love seeing how busy it is, with so many families and tour buses rocking up. It might be a bit of a controversial opinion, but I get happy when I see people out there exploring and enjoying the outdoors. As long as you take care of the environment, pick up after yourself and be a tidy Kiwi, it's so cool to see.

Sealy Tarns, Red Tarns and Mueller Hut

Sealy Tarns is a popular walk with a lot of steps. Heather went up on a different trip, a bit spontaneously, and hit fog. It's also part of the way up to Mueller Hut, where most people stay overnight, so she'd like to go back and combine the two for sunset, the night sky and sunrise. She'd love to go when there's a blanket of snow, maybe in mid to late spring.

Mueller Hut takes planning. We've never planned for it: in summer the hut books up really quickly, and in winter the ice conditions can be too dangerous if you don't have alpine skills (I don't), so you don't want to book and then not get your weather window.

Sealy Tarns at sunrise, though, I can highly recommend. We walked it for sunrise one winter, and I was turning around every hundred steps to watch the Southern Alps glow, from dark blue to purple to pink to golden yellow. It's worth every stair. And if you don't want to go all the way up, Kea Point is a lower, shorter viewpoint.

For fewer crowds, Heather rates Red Tarns. It's a little bit of a steep climb with some steps, and on a clear day you get reflections of Mount Cook and Mount Sefton in the tarns. Her last visit was after rain, so it was muddy, but she still thinks it's worth doing for something different.

Walks for a rainy day

If the weather isn't playing nice, Heather's options are easy nature strolls under the trees, where you get a bit of coverage: the Governors Bush Walk and the Bowen Bush Walk. They're good for families too, and on the Governors Bush Walk you still get views out over the valley.

I didn't know about these bush walks, so it's good to have a couple of wet-weather options up your sleeve.

Where to stay in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

There aren't a huge number of places to stay in Mount Cook, so here's what came up:

• The Hermitage. The one most people have heard of. Pretty amazing, and it can be expensive. Through the Hermitage there are also self-contained, apartment-style units, which could be good if you're travelling with a group or a family or need a bit of extra space.
• A basic motel right next to the Hermitage, where Heather stayed. The rooms are pretty basic but comfortable, almost motel-slash-hostel. The highlight is the communal area: a full kitchen that's almost professional, fireplaces, couches and a huge A-frame window looking out over Mount Cook.
• White Horse Hill Campground. A DOC campsite right at the start of the Hooker Valley Track and some of the other trails. Heather hasn't been to Mount Cook in a campervan yet, but a couple of nights there is on her list.
• Hooker Hut, for something different. Heather would love to go back and stay.

We've stayed at White Horse Hill. You don't get views of Aoraki from the campsite itself, but you're so close.

Planning around Mount Cook weather

"I think the biggest tip is to be flexible and to keep an open mind to plans changing."

If you like a plan, Heather suggests having a plan B before you go, so you're not scrambling to find one during your holiday. And if you're open to working without a plan, sometimes you have the best times when you roll with it. Some of the best experiences are the ones you don't plan for. She gets that it's a balancing act when it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but it's really hard to have a bad time here.

Her other tip: book weather-dependent things like cruises and scenic flights at the start of your stay. If they get cancelled, a lot of them will reschedule for another day while you're still there. A scenic flight is another awesome way to see Mount Cook.

I've heard the same advice for Queenstown: if you're there for three days, book your scenic flight for the first day, so there's time to try again on the second or third.

I'm more of a spontaneous traveller. One summer we spent over a month in the South Island and only knew what we were doing for week one, then decided everything else day by day. It was sometimes a little bit stressful, with all the decision-making on the go and so much to choose from. But that's very much how we travel.

Places from this episode

• Aoraki Mount Cook National Park
• Mount Cook Village
• Hooker Valley Track
• Hooker Hut
• Kea Point
• Tasman Lake
• Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View
• Sealy Tarns
• Mueller Hut
• Red Tarns
• Governors Bush Walk
• Bowen Bush Walk
• The Hermitage
• White Horse Hill Campground
• Roy's Peak
• Milford Sound
• Doubtful Sound
• Nugget Point lighthouse, Kaka Point

Follow Heather

Heather shares travel tips, itineraries, road trips and hiking guides for New Zealand on her blog, and photos from her trips on Instagram.

More like this

• Pioneering Women of Aoraki Mount Cook with Hazel Phillips
• A Memorable Week on the Road from Kaikōura to Aoraki
• Ski-Touring and Camping on Tasman Glacier in a Storm with Helena Sodergren
• Five days on the Sladden Glacier climbing Mt Sealy and Mt Jeanette with Kaleb Anderson

Until then, keep adventuring :)