"Why walking so late?" I was asked of by a passing tourist
as I headed up the Hooker valley towards the glacial terminus, Hooker Lake. The sun had long set and the chill of a cool evening was settling rapidly. I had my camera and tripod on my back - to me it seemed perfectly obvious as to why I was walking towards the on-coming foot-traffic up the valley late in the day.
The walk into Hooker Lake is a gentle up-hill meander
crossing three suspension bridges over rivers cascading with milky turquoise water, sometimes walking on a wooden board-walk to protect the delicate flora. The promise of Aoraki-Mt Cook is always present; just around the next corner; just over the next bridge. The views are commanding where ever you are in this part of the National Park. Mt Sefton's rounded prominance dominates the skyline when Aoraki is not in view, and numerous stunning snow-laden peaks steal the show on the walk towards Hooker Glacier and it's lake. My plan for the evening was to photograph the lake. The evening was calm, despite a weather forecast for high winds. The air temperatures were mild - not warm - but I knew I could sit and enjoy the starry sky without worrying about losing my fingers and toes! I was alone - surprisingly. I have seen many cliched photographs of this lake with our famous maunga gracing it, often reflected in glassy still waters. This evening, despite the stillness, I could see small ice pieces moving - "a timelapse would have been perfect", I thought to myself. I knew I would not be able to do the long exposure I was hoping for without picking up some movement of the larger ice formations, so I decided to focus-stack three images and hope for the best.
The glacier and lake of the Hooker Valley. Images from Google Earth and Adventuremag.
Hooker Lake formed as a result of glacial retreat in the 1970's
and often freezes over during winter. Ice formations are a feature of the lake, which drift down from the glacier terminus to the head of the lake. The lake forms part of the tributory for the beautiful braided river system of Tasman River via the Hooker River and eventually ends up in the aquamarine blue, stunning Lake Pukaki - one of the clearest fresh water lakes in the world, which is part of the Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme. Hooker Lake is becoming longer as Hooker Glacier retreats - an effect of course due to climate change, but is still much smaller than Tasman Lake, the terminal lake of New Zealand's longest glacier - Tasman Glacier (Haupapa) sitting to the east of Aoraki-Mt Cook.
So, here I was, alone under a darkening sky as the temperatures began to dip towards zero. Every now and then the thundering 'crack' of a distant avalanche high up in one of the mountains, would echo across the valley and the white glow reflecting off them gave hints of a rising moon.
Hooker Lake asked for nothing; she just was. High above, Aoraki was quiet - for now. I sat with my camera completely in awe of my surroundings. I thought about all the forces that had conspired to construct the geology and landscape of this incredible part of New Zealand; how our highest mountain (12,218 feet) had formed out of tectonic plate collision and the remains of a powerful history was evident all around me in the form of these lakes, glaciers and other stunning mountains.
I considered too, how grateful I was to feel half a world away from the city and the pressures that formed and shaped my own world.
Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park:
For more information on how to get there and what to do when you do get there, check out the DOC website here.