After a 2 and a half days of Queenstown we continued our journey to Mount Cook. If I would do something differently about our itinerary would be to spend a few days in this area. For me, this was the highlight of our trip. I had a few moments where I was wondering if all of this was real. I can definitely say that my heart and eyes were really spoiled here. We were just the three of us all the way on the other side of the world, part of this surreal turquoise scenery.

On the way to Mount Cook!

The drive itself was just mirific! If only I could have walked it.:) The breath-taking alpine landforms invited us for constant breaks. I just wanted to take it all with me without even thinking that it could get even more spectacular.

..and magic Lake Pukaki followed!

Whenever somebody asks me what my favorite part of the trip was,  I am referring to this lake. It is indeed unimaginably beautiful. We were also lucky to see it in a distinctive light which made the amazing turquoise hues of the lake even more intense. Lake Pukaki is a glacial lake, the largest of the three alpine lakes. The distinctive turquoise colour is given by the glacial feed to the lakes.  We stopped at the car park on the side of the road and walked down to the lake. Our toddler enjoyed playing with rocks of all sizes (the inevitable attraction between toddlers and rocks), throwing them in the lake while me in my great enthusiasm was trying out all the yoga poses I know, jumping up and down and being just grateful. I was part of this magic that I will always keep with me. I promise you that reality was even better than these pictures!

Mount Cook and the Tasman Glacier View

We continued our drive with Lake Pukaki on our right side and arrived to the Mount Cook Alpine Village and checked in at our lovely cottage. After a short break and lunch (btw there aren’t many cafés and restaurants there. As far as I noticed there is the luxurious Hermitage Hotel and a small café with good breakfast in the area of the reception) we were planning to do the Hooker Valley Track with our son in the baby carrier. However, just like in Bali , he did not want to get in there and seemed to disagree with our plans. Moreover, if up to that point we had lots of sunshine, it started getting colder and rain was announced. We changed our plans and did a short walk (40 minutes from the Alpine Village) to the Tasman Glacier View. The little one loved this track since there were lots of stairs in the beginning. And our toddler loves his stairs. Needless to say that the view of the lower Tasman Glacier and lake, the mountains surrounding was just astonishing (I think I used enough synonyms of this word during this post to express my enthusiasm). The colour of the water this time was pure white.

On the way back it had already started raining but by the time we got back to the car we were blessed with a perfect rainbow over the mountains.

Certainly, one of the best days of my life! To round it up, this area is also known for star gazing as it is one of the darkest spots on earth, but after such a day I gazed at my own stars in dreamland.