I nearly skipped this one. It is the most popular walk in the national park, it is almost flat, and in summer the path can feel like a queue. In the middle of winter it is a different place: quiet, cold, the low sun barely clearing the ridges, and Aoraki/Mount Cook standing white at the end of the valley the whole way.
The walk
The track starts at the White Horse Hill campground and passes the Alpine Memorial, a quiet reminder of how many climbers these mountains have taken. Soon after comes the first swing bridge over the milky Hooker River, below the moraine wall that holds back Mueller Lake.
Two more swing bridges and a long stretch of raised boardwalk across the tussock later, the valley starts to close in. There is no real climb, just a gentle rise until the path ends at Hooker Lake. In winter the lake can freeze over, with grey icebergs from the Hooker Glacier locked into the surface and the mountain filling the head of the valley. I stayed until my fingers stopped working, then walked back the same way with the light going gold behind me.
Good to know
- Frost makes the boardwalks and bridges slippery in winter. Microspikes or grippy soles make a real difference.
- Check the Department of Conservation track alerts and the avalanche advisory before you go in winter and spring.
- Much of the valley sits in shade on a winter day. Bring more layers than the car park suggests, plus a hat and gloves.
- Each swing bridge takes a limited number of people at once, so wait your turn.