Alas, my time in New Zealand has come to an end. As sad as I am to leave, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to live here for five months.
In my final two weeks, I knew I had to squeeze in one more adventure. But where should I go? The mental list of places I still wanted to visit (or re-visit) seemed endless. Scrolling through my mental list, I kept returning to Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park. Most of my friends had been there at some point in the past few months and each one who went said they loved it. So after a last minute car rental Thursday afternoon, I packed my backpack and drove southwest for four hours on Friday morning.
Initially, I was planning on sleeping the first night in my car (at the campground) and the hiking up to Muller Hut. While talking to a representative at the visitor center, I was advised not to hike the route alone due to icy conditions (the weather forecast was clear, but there had been substantial snow melt and re-freezing on the trail). For better or worse, I decided to abide by the recommendation and felt sad that I wouldn’t get to stay at the famous hut. Instead, I decided I would focus on my photography this trip. I started with driving into Tasman valley (~10 from the campsite) to scope out Tasman Lake and catch the sunset. I didn’t get great pictures, but it was definitely a beautiful evening. The next morning, I woke up and returned to Tasman Lake before sunrise, getting a few more shots.
What to do with the rest of the day? Well, the weather was good so I hiked halfway to Muller Hut and stopped at a point called Sealy Tarns (a tarn is an alpine pond) just to get an idea of the trail. The sky was clear and the temperature was almost too warm on the way up, but the views were great! Aoraki/Mt. Cook (New Zealand’s highest peak) was visible almost the entire way. I also found it pretty nice not having to lug my sleeping bag and other gear with me both up and down. I’ll admit, some parts were icy and steep enough that I could see it being quite dangerous with a bigger pack and no crampons.
That evening, I set out for more photography practice, this time staying in Hooker Valley to see what sort of shots I could get of Mt. Cook at sunset. Although I knew the light would mostly hit the side of the peak not facing me, it couldn’t hurt to try. There were also clouds surrounding the peak which can sometimes be fantastic, but the lighting just wasn’t there that evening. I did manage to get a nice plant silhouette against some other mountains.
Things took a turn for the better once the sun set. A neat thing about Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park is that it’s a dark sky region so the star gazing was incredible. The moon did make it a little difficult to see the dimmer stars, but in turn the snow was more visible. To top the weekend off, I woke up on the last day just in time to witness faint clouds colored red, pink and orange by the rising sun against Mt. Cook’s silhouette. It was absolutely amazing. I might have shot some of my best photos that morning.
Looking back, exploring Mt. Cook/Aoraki National Park in the late hours of night and early hours of dawn made me fall in love with the area. I already knew I was going to enjoy being surrounded by mountains and I was definitely excited to see snow, but the combination of snow-capped peaks illuminated by moonlight with a backdrop of stars was unlike anything I had seen before. It was magical to be out in the quite night with the trail all to myself taking in the stunning environment. Part of me wondered how no one else was out here gaping at their surroundings. In all the sunrises and after-dark explorations, I saw only two other individuals, only recognizable by their headlamps in the distance.
Alas, when I got back to Christchurch and uploaded the photos, I realized I had severely underexposed the night pictures. Even if you knew what to look for, you could barely make out the white mountains and the bright stars. I was devastated. One of my favorite moments in New Zealand and I failed to capture it when I had the chance. Despair crept in, drowning out the gratitude I should have felt for experiencing the moment in the first place. Quickly, I calculated what it would take to go back the following weekend. Would I leave myself enough time to prepare for my last final? What would be the phase of the moon? Could I afford another car rental and the cost of gas? Most importantly, would the weather be conducive to driving, hiking, and photography? Of course, that last one wouldn’t be known until mere days beforehand. Even then, it was bound to change.
A quick internet search told me that a full moon would take place June 17th. That would be Monday night. My final exam was on Friday. I would also be moving out and catching a flight Friday afternoon. Oh boy, I thought, This is just too good of an opportunity to pass up. While fewer stars would be visible, I reasoned the mountains would be much brighter, possibly making them easier to photograph. Now it was just up to the weather (and my ability to figure out the right camera settings). Luckily both factors worked out. I got a couple awesome long-exposure shots. These pictures are the result of leaving the shutter open for 2-3 minutes which is why you see star trails instead of pinpricks of light. Suffice to say, I was extremely happy to go back and see it all again, this time managing to photograph at least some of the beauty.
So, long story short, I went on two back-to-back weekend trips to Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park. There, I fell in love with snow-capped peaks reflecting moonlight against a backdrop of stars. In leu of backpacking or serious hiking, photography and exploring the same place at different times filled my days. It was different from what I anticipated, but surprisingly enjoyable. Overall, not a bad way to conclude my semester abroad. :)