Adventure travel: Is the Hooker Track New Zealand's easiest day-walk?

The Hooker Track is an easy day-hike that takes you across three swing bridges, all with stunning views. Photo / Supplied

Grandeur surrounds the Hooker Track and - on a good day - it's an easy few hours' walk, writes Steve Dickinson

The sound of what seems like a bomb going off makes you instantly look up.

Then, as if in slow motion, the masses of snow and ice roar down the mountain followed by clouds of mist and then . . . nothing. Just silence. If you have never seen or heard an avalanche, it is awe-inspiring yet, even at a distance, still an unnerving experience.

Aoraki, Mt Cook, is steeped in New Zealand history. It is our highest mountain and the one that has claimed the most lives. It oozes grandeur, like some alpine sentinel looking down on the mountains and valleys below. But as long as you stay on the Hooker Track, you are not in any avalanche danger. DoC states the track has been designed for avalanche safety. Venture off it, and you do so at your own risk. (Don't venture off it).

The approach to Aoraki is spectacular. As the road winds and turns you get visual snapshots of the mountain – the highest peak in the range – at a distance, getting bigger and more ominous as you get closer. After passing Mt Cook Village, from the track's car park, the Hooker Valley spreads out before you.

There are a range of other tramps and huts in the area, but the Hooker Track is the most used. It's a great one-day hike for people of all abilities. Recently we walked the track and one of our party had an injured knee but was determined to do it and, thanks to the quality and ease of the 11km track, she made it there and back. The track is easy to follow and groomed, and along the way we came across families with young kids, even someone pushing a stroller (although that's probably not a great idea).

HOW TO WALK THE HOOKER TRACK

From the car park, you cross the Hooker River, and the track goes between old moraine ridges and humps. (A moraine is a fancy name for the material left behind by a glacier).

Close to the start but off the main track there are stone steps up to the Alpine Memorial, a stone structure covered in metal plaques honouring climbers who have died in the Southern Alps. There are a lot. It is sobering that, surrounded by all that grandeur, so many have lost their lives among these peaks. One quote stood out to me: "I am not gone – I am in these mountains, I am in the stars, I am all around you, always near, never far".

Just beyond the monument, there is an ominous view of Mount Sefton, 3151m covered in snow, glaciers, and sheer dark cliffs whether summer or winter.

Further along the Hooker Track, there are three large swing bridges across the river or valley floor. If conditions are poor, the second of these bridges can be closed – but if the weather is bad, you shouldn't be walking this track anyway.

Across the first swing bridge, you get views over Mueller Lake edged by Mount Sefton, which notoriously drops avalanches that crash into the glacier lake below.

Views of Aoraki Mt Cook are imposing, but the Hooker Track is an easy and rewarding day hike. Photo / Supplied

Proceeding up the track, which curves to the right above a small creek, you pass through a rock notch, which feels like a doorway to a surprise. You then turn downhill to Hooker Lake, which expands out before you, icy green-brown, with icebergs as big as houses floating in the shallows. The flotilla of distorted icebergs fills the creamy, brown glacial, water and if you look up the lake, you will see the ice cliffs where the lake meets Hooker Glacier

There are tables to sit and take it all in or you can edge down to the shoreline and swim with icebergs if you're brave enough. It's not a popular option – the water is murky and, as you would expect, freezing.

The full track is an easy few hours' walk but be aware that conditions can change very quickly. You are in an alpine environment and there are risks. A friend and his teenage family once set out on a warm sunny day with light warm winds to walk the track. But on their return, in only 90 minutes, the weather changed – a massive drop in temperature and they were buffeted by freezing gale-force winds so strong they could barely stand. The wind can funnel down the valley causing the temperature to drop rapidly. The ease of access and a large parking area can give a false sense of safety – so make sure you check the weather or check with DoC before you set out.

Hooker Track fact file:

Location: Aoraki/Mt Cook, South Island NZ
Distance: 10 kms
Time needed: 3 hours return
Difficulty: Easy
Mountain Bike: No
Wheelchair access: No
Route: Double back
Elevation: 877m
Wet feet: No
Toilets: No
Dogs: No
Mobile coverage: Cellphone connection is possible for most of the track

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