A Snowy Adventure to Tekapo and Mt Cook

A last minute decision, racing to get the last accommodation in Tekapo for the night and we were off for 36 hours of what proved to cement incredible memories and produce hundreds of photos to process.  Here I mainly want to share the photos of that 36-hour adventure and put a little of it in words as well so I don’t ever forget.

It all started with me pinning after the snow in the McKenzie, Cam checking out on webcams it was still there; booking the last available accommodation and then packing and in the car in under an hour. The aim was to get as close to Tekapo as we could before the sunset. We made it to Burkes Pass and the colours were just amazing, stop! stop! was yelled in the car constantly but was hindered somewhat by the build up of snow around the roads.

I was thrilled to capture this spot, which is one of my favourites even without snow, but were in a hurry now as the light was fading quickly. There was still time though to snap a quick couple of shots of the church before settling into Peppers Hotel.  I didn’t stay long though dark was close on the heels of sunset and I was not going to miss out on a Milky Way opportunity, I am still pretty new to astrophotography so I wanted all the practice I could get. I set myself up under the stars, with snow all around and waited for the magic to begin. It didn’t take long and the soon the Milky Way made its appearance.

I was not alone of course and others there keen to capture what they could, it’s a very social thing photography as well as all helping each other along.  As well as us photographers there were a couple in all their wedding finery, it had to be -4 minimum and she was in an off the shoulder dress with no jacket… madness. But I bet some incredible photos were got on such a clear night.

Next morning was just as beautiful, sadly no clouds to pick up the colour but I was back at the church early to be there well before the sun began to rise. Again not alone so I enjoyed passing the time with just a few other photographers. The first pictures though captured when the stars were still out.

The colours at the lake drew me down to the water and away from the church with the snow on the rocks it made such a beautiful sight. Soon enough we were surrounded by colour.  The church, the lake, the southern alps in a pink glow I just didn’t know which picture to take and it was no use running around as the ground way like sheet ice.  One important trick if you are at the church in the morning is not to leave when all the colour is gone, the magic starts again as the sun comes over the hill – at the right time of year it is low and shines right through the church windows.

I was pretty much frozen solid by now and all the slow moving tourists were beginning to arrive making photographing the church difficult so it was off for a hot coffee and the next adventure. A few more of the morning pics are in the album below.

A quick clean up and on the road before the light of the day got too harsh, but sadly it can not be sunset or sunrise all day so I knew there were going to be some challenging shots.  Everywhere though was just so beautiful covered in snow that even a good old farm fence looked spectacular with the Southern Alps behind.

Next stop was Lake Pukaki and we were keen on such a stunning day to head right towards the canals and salmon farms before going to the look out. Great decision, there were some not bad reflections coming across from the mountains on the other side of the lake as well as clear views of Cook.

Once we got to the canals, along with all the fishermen, we were treated to incredible reflections on what you call a blue bird day.  Here I learnt a bit more about the challenges of circular polarizers trying to get the even blue of the day… oh well it’s not just about capturing the perfect image (is it?)

While I was taking all these pictures Cam was either pointing out the next spot I might miss or working on his laptop – the perfect companion.  We headed around to the Lake Pukakai lookout just in case the perfect shot was there but the light was really too strong to get anything too decent.  We headed on down to Peters Lookout, similar story but I guess you have to be somewhere in the heat and harsh light of the midday sun…

At this point I was not quite sure what our plan was going to be, we were so close to Aoraki I couldn’t imagine going home and we knew that there was little accommodation and a bunch of commitments back in Christchurch. Cam suggested we just walk into Hooker Lake for sunset and then drive home afterwards. That will work I thought forgetting just how much snow there was!!  We made a few more stops on the road in as seriously who actually knows how long it takes to drive it cause you never do it without stopping a million times.  We, of course, had to get the obligatory road pic (I hope no one is actually killed doing this but it was pretty quiet).

While Aoraki / Mt Cook is the focus of the national park there are so many other absolutely beautiful mountains all around and all of them unique and interesting.

The walk up the Hooker Valley track started on the main road or at the Hermitage as they were keeping the main road closed. This added a bit of time and a bit of slippiness but was also pretty as walking up the valley. I don’t think the road was so much the problem as the carpark full of snow.  It was 2:30 and sunset was around 5:45 so we had time to get in.  The walk was actually really quite simple and we had heaps of gear if we needed it, including torches to come out. To be honest I was super excited and really looking forward to it, for Cam I think it was more run of the mill.  We met lots of people coming out but not many following us in, we did meet the odd little bird though.

The walk up the valley was amazing, everything covered in snow, the trees, the swing bridges, the mountain, of course, the rocks in the river, the board walks it was a just a sea of white, again a bit challenging for me to get really great photos I was happy with but to show the detail is really tricky, and it was COLD!!

We made pretty good time and I was pleased about that as the sunlight was beginning to disappear off the mountains. The little tarns along the way were all frozen up and I realised reflections were not going to be very likely. But when we came over the top and spotted the Lake in front of us completely frozen over with snow on top of the ice we were just beyond amazed, it was both beautiful and stark and you really really felt you were in the hands of the elements. 

The other things that amazed me was that the Lake had all these tiny dots of people on it, no way was I brave or silly enough to walk on the Lake but I was for sure going down to get closer to it and see those huge icebergs set solid amongst the ice of the lake. I am not sure what took over me once I got down there, maybe years of ice skating on dams and curling rinks, but it was clear to me this was one very solidly frozen lake. I thought I might walk just a little way but soon found Cam beside me and urging us on further and further into the lake’s centre.

There were mostly people coming off the ice at this time so we were the only ones in this huge lake, I wanted to just yell at the top of my voice from excitement but also didn’t want to disturb the surroundings. You could just hear rock falls and small avalanches and nothing else.  We did do a funny video to the kids explaining that we hoped they did not end up orphans which sent from the centre of the lake – go figure!! Eventually, we did get joined by one other hardy photographer Shannon, you might spot him in one of these shots up at the galcier face. We joined him as far as was safe to go and I did my best to Photopills to identify when the Milky Way might pop its head over the horizon. 

It was beyond incredible watching the sun set and the colours change (though not dramatically given the amazing blue bird day). Head torches got us off the ice but I was conscious there might be other photographers out there so I did not want to be too annoying with our bright lights.  Most had gone by the time we got off the ice but I had been told about a great reflection at the mouth of the river so we went to explore that. That was so worth it and the picture below captures Cook and the stars in the reflection once dark had arrived.

The trip out was remarkably easy with head torches and not yet frozen sloppy snow so it was not too slippy, I was actually really impressed with how I did but I think adrenaline had a lot to do with it. There was also the stopping for a few night pictures.

The final treat was getting the Milky Way perfectly lined up with a swing bridge, how is that for luck and timing. So these were our final pics below before we got to the car and drove back to Christchurch on a beautiful evening. Back home in bed at 1:30 am hardly believing what we had packed into 36 hours.

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