[15 Days New Zealand Campervan with Kids] Day 8 – Mount Cook Day

8 am – Sunrise at Lake Tekapo

Woke up early and excited to catch sunrise right outside our cabin facing the lake.

But wah lau, the mountain was blocking the sun, so at 8 am still no sunshine on the lake.

Still the view was very nice and peaceful, just the calm water and mist around.

10.30 am – Visit to The Church of the Good Shepherd

Yesterday, the kids were asleep when we visited the church, so today we decided to go again. This time we parked at the opposite side and crossed the Maclaren Footbridge.

We took a ton of photos around the beautiful church and even stepped inside for about 15 minutes.

The calm and peaceful vibe inside was very soothing. After that we wandered around the back of the church, taking even more shots.

2 pm – Mount Cook White Horse Hill Campground and Hiking

When doing research, it said this campground was closed, but while passing by I noticed the entrance was open. So why not?

Before starting the hike, we whipped up some ramen for lunch. We chose to do the Hooker Valley hike instead of Kea Point as it was open. The hike says it takes 1 to 2 hours round trip, so we want to see how far we get.

Hiking on snow without proper gear got slippery. Took our time, step by step and careful not to fall.

4 pm – Lake Müller Lookout

We stumbled upon this lookout with stunning views of the first Hooker Valley bridge. The walk there is short and mostly flat—a perfect little walk near Mount Cook Village. There is a bench and a stone landing to pause and take in the spectacular scenery.

Make sure to come on clear days and avoid the crowd by going early. We took over 45 minutes there just relaxing and snapping photos.

4.15 pm – First Hooker Valley Bridge

The hike took us over an hour to get here and going back would take about the same time. We decided to end our hike here and enjoyed lingering around, taking more photos and soaking in the mountain views.

6 pm – Driving to Omarama Holiday Park

We left the carpark around 5.30 pm with the sun setting.

Luckily the drive was smooth, nothing like the challenging roads we had on Day 3.

The drive was about 100 km. And we check in around 9pm. Prior to that, went some supermarket to top up groceries.

This place had one of the best kitchens we’ve used on the trip. Great pots and pans for everyone to share, so I didn’t have to bring and wash my own. Just use theirs and wash there also.

Good deal.

Dinner was lamb chops for the adults with the kids enjoying their own food.