"The highest Peaks and the bluest Lakes" Mount Cook National Park by Kimi_the_Bear

Mount Cook National Park Travel Guide: 37 reviews and 154 photos

Lake Pukaki and Mt. Cook. - Mount Cook National Park

Lupin magic at Lake Tekapo.

This is a page about the beauty of Canterbury's High Country, with Mt. Cook National Park, Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo in the centre.

Lake Pukaki is the lake you see in front of Mt. Cook if you travel on SH 8.

It is as turquoise blue as Lake Tekapo in the warm seasons, and dark blue in winter. Rock silt carried down by rivers from glacier ice during the snow melt tints those lakes in those magic colours. In summer the lakes are bordered by introduced and now wildly spreading colourful Russell lupins.

Cycling along the western shore of Lake Tekapo.

I have been there many times, especially at Lake Tekapo because this is closer to home, and we sometimes go there just for the day. We have been hiking and cycling, sitting in the hot pools at Lake Tekapo, made a scenic flight over the whole region with Air Safaris, admired the braided riverbeds, glaciers (including the West Coast glaciers Fox and Franz Josef), floating icebergs of Tasman Lake and Mt. Cook, New Zealands highest peak with 3754 metres, from the air. This is the most magic thing you can do. Let's just hope that the sun shines for you when you are about.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Magic colours, magic peaks, magic lakes, magic glaciers
Cons:The only bad thing that can happen is bad weather, and you see nothing at all
In a nutshell:Just MAGIC!!!!!!

Last visit to Mount Cook National Park: Jul 2010
Intro Updated Mar 26, 2011
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amandajayne81 Mar 26, 2011 at 5:20 AM

Great shots Kimi! You have a lovely warm fur coat but I am an Aussie wondering if there would be snow on the ground in Aug in the Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook areas. It would be cool to see.
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Russell_the_Wombat Oct 27, 2009 at 1:54 PM

Wow Kimi, those landscapes are indeed pure magic. I love the Russell lupins!!!! Cheers, Lupin the Wombat