Hooker Valley Hike at Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park

22 March 2025

As usual, I woke up about 30 minutes before sunrise hoping to shoot some photos of the sun rays painting the mountain golden. From the balcony of my room in the Hermitage Hotel, I had good views of Mount Sefton, Hooker Valley and Mount Cook in the distant.  

Sunrise from the balcony of my room in Hermitage Hotel located in Mount Cook Village. Mount Sefton was nicely illuminated by the golden rays but disappointingly, Mount Cook was not.

Our plan for the morning was to do the Hooker Valley hike again. The Hooker Valley Track is known for its iconic suspension bridges. In fact, there are three along the trail before hikers arrived at Hooker Lake, the end point.

We had hiked a portion of this trail during sunset the day before (see this post) but only up to the 2nd suspension bridge. This hike was so fantastic that we are doing it again but at different time of the day. This morning, we will complete the entire 10 km return hike.

The hike on a mostly flat track through Hooker Valley to Hooker Lake provides incredible views of the Southern Alps, glacial streams and the majestic Aoraki (Mount Cook).

After a simple breakfast of instant noodles, we checked out from our hotel and drove to the trail head located at White Horse Hill campground/carpark. Just as we were approaching the car park, we realised that we had forgotten to return the keys to the hotel.     

We were fortunate to discover our mistake early. It would have been disastrous if we had discovered our mistake a few hours into the hike. Thankfully, Hermitage Hotel was only a few minutes drive away and we sorted that out quickly.

Starting The Hike                    

We arrived at the White Horse Hill campground/carpark at about 8 AM and we had no problem finding a parking space. Once again, we were blessed with very good weather and it was much cooler to do the hike in the early morning.

Start of our Hooker Valley hike in the morning.

Mueller Lake Lookout

It was a nice and easy 1 km walk to the Mueller Lake Lookout located just before the first suspension bridge. The cool and fresh morning air made this hike more enjoyable as compared to our first hike.

Mueller Lake Lookout provides an excellent vantage point overlooking Mueller Lake and the first suspension bridge. Looking back, we could also see the path we took to this point.  

View of the path we took to Mueller Lake and the Tasman Valley in the back.

Mueller Lake and Mount Sefton. The lake is in the shadows as the sun as still low in the sky.

First Suspension Bridge along the Hooker Valley track as viewed from Mueller Lake Lookout.                                                       

First Swing Bridge along the Hooker Valley Track                                   

We made our way down to the first swing bridge. We stopped at the middle of the bridge to enjoy the views and also shoot photos of the Hooker River below.             

Crossing the first swing bridge.

 Like before, it was thrilling to walk on the planks of the slightly bouncy and swinging bridge with views of the river below.

Despite my fear of heights and morbid thoughts of my phone dropping into the river below, we stopped along the bridge to snap photos of the stunning views.                                         

Nice views from the middle of the bridge.  

View of Hooker River and Mount Sefton from the middle of the first suspension bridge.        

After crossing the first bridge, the path followed the shore of the Mueller Lake to the second bridge. Once again, we enjoyed views of Mount Sefton, Mueller Lake and the moraine on the opposite shore. The second suspension bridge is located about 1.3 km from the first swing bridge.     

View of Hermitage Hotel in the distance.

Mueller Lake and Mount Sefton bathed in the morning sun.

Second Swing Bridge

Second Swing Bridge along the Hooker Valley track.

After crossing the second bridge, the path followed the Hooker River. Once again, I stopped to shoot a few photos of the water gushing over the large boulders.

Long exposure photos of water gushing over the large boulders in the Hooker River.

Section of trail next to the Hooker River after the second swing bridge.

Mount Cook soon appears. Mount Cook in the morning light was not as impressive compared to the Mount Cook painted golden by the setting.

Mount Cook in the morning light.

This was where we turned back during our first hike. Proceeding along the valley, we soon come to wooden boardwalk heading towards Mount Cook.

Hooker Valley Track Boardwalk

The landscape at this part of the trail is a photographer’s delight and is one of the highlights of hiking the Hooker Valley Track.

Hooker Valley Track boardwalk.

The boardwalk provides a beautiful leading line towards the mountains and Mount Cook in particular.

Third Swing Bridge on Hooker Valley Track

The boardwalk continued to the third swing bridge. We saw the sun peeking from behind the mountain as we approached the bridge.

Third Suspension Bridge over the Hooker River.

We were just in time to see the third swing bridge illuminated by the rising sun as we crossed it. 

View of the river from the middle of the third suspension bridge.

As we approached Hooker Lake, we could see glacier on the mountain top and waterfall from the melting glacier tumbling down the cliff.

Glacier covered mountains.

Waterfall cascading down the cliff in Hooker Valley.

Hooker Valley Track’s Alpine Tarn

Shortly after crossing the third bridge, we spotted a sign pointing to a track that leads to a small alpine tarn located on the right side of the track. 

The short detour led us to a small body of water that was not very impressive at first look. I bashed through some thickets to get to the opposite side of the tarn to snap photos of Mount Cook reflected from the still surface of this small body of water. The photo opportunity is worth the short detour.  

Hooker Valley Track’s alpine tarn with Mount Cook reflected off the surface. 

On the trail towards Hooker Lake. The lake is just round the corner.

Hooker Lake

From the tarn, we continued for another 700 metres to arrive at the end of the trail at Hooker Lake, which offers a brilliant view of Aoraki / Mount Cook.

Mount Cook at Hooker Lake.

There is a large picnic table where we sat to enjoy a break with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and the glacial lake blow.

View of Hooker Lake.

      

Glacier covered mountains around Hooker Lake.

Hooker Lake was formed by the recent retreat of the Hooker Glacier. Some small ice-bergs that had broken off from the glacier could still be seen floating on the lake even though it was early autumn.  The water must be freezing cold even with the hot sun but we spotted some guys taking a dip.

Sign warning about the hazards in the lake.

A track led down to the shore of the lake. It is worthwhile to spend some time to relax by the lake and explore its rocky shores.

It was fun to spot floating ice-bergs that looked like a swan, dorsal fin of a shark or even the head of a person.

Exploring the rocky shore of Hooker Lake.  

Spot the ice-berg that looked like a swan in the background.

This iceberg looks like a Queen’s head.

Hooker Lake marks the end of the Hooker Valley Trail. After some time to rest and relax by the shores of the lake, we made our way back to the White Horse Campground.

Overall, this hike is one of the best hikes we did in New Zealand, in terms of easiness and yet offering the most beautiful landscape.

News update:

The second suspension bridge on the Hooker Valley Track is permanently closed due to riverbank erosion and safety concerns. A new suspension bridge is being built, with an expected opening in Autumn 2026. The track remains open to the first swing bridge.

More information can be found at the Department of Conservation website.