RTW Trip Day #82: The Drive to Lake Tekapo, via Mount Cook National Park

19 December 2025

Steps: 12,705

We woke up to torrential rain this morning, which meant that we didn’t take many stops along the way to Lake Tekapo. Despite the weather, the drive itself was still stunning, with a varied and ever-changing landscape along the way.

We passed through the Otago Region and over Lindis Pass, which is a picturesque mountain pass known for its tussock-covered hills and scattered gold rush ruins. Like much of the South Island we have seen so far, long stretches of the road were lined with lupins, which really do look beautiful.

The Clay Cliffs

The Clay Cliffs are natural rock formations about 10 km west of Omarama, and are reached via a 20 minute drive along a fairly bumpy dirt road.

To get up close to the cliffs requires a walk of around 1.2 km, where you can walk right “inside” the formations. We’ve seen similar landscapes in Drumheller in Canada, but these cliffs are far taller and more dramatic.

It was a great opportunity to explain to the girls how the cliffs were formed by layers of silt deposited by glacial flow millions of years ago, then tilted by shifting fault plates. You can clearly see how the layers have been pushed and angled over time.

Lake Pukaki and Mount Cook National Park

We stopped for a quick lunch in Twizel and, thankfully, the weather began to improve. The sun came out just in time for our drive along Lake Pukaki towards the base of Mount Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain.

The drive alongside the lake is stunning, with its vivid turquoise water reminiscent of Peyto Lake in Canada. Seeing that colour set against such an enormous mountain backdrop really is something special.

We continued on to the Mount Cook National Park Visitor Centre, which is well worth a stop. Entry is free, and the centre has two floors of information boards covering the national park, local wildlife, and Sir Edmund Hillary and his successful expeditions to summit Mount Cook.

The visitor centre also has a lovely bay window that perfectly frames Mount Cook in the background.

Hooker Valley Track and Kea Point

We wanted to fit in a few short walks, so we did the start of the Hooker Valley Track as far as the Lake Mueller Lookout. The view is impressive, looking out over the lake and towards the first of the three swing bridges further along the track. It was incredibly windy up there.

We returned to the car park, but Michael and I ran ahead to Kea Point in hopes of getting a view of the glacier. From there, we had a great view of the Mueller Lake moraine and the debris left behind by the retreating glacier, as well as the Huddleston Glacier slowly creeping down the mountainside.

Sadly, the Mueller Glacier itself has retreated out of view due to global warming.

Star Gazing Disappointment at Lake Tekapo

We had enjoyed patches of blue sky while exploring Mount Cook, but as we drove towards Lake Tekapo the clouds and rain closed in again. Unfortunately, this meant our stargazing plans had to be cancelled.

Jess was disappointed, so to cheer her up we surprised her with a belated birthday cake.

For the first time in over two months, we also cooked a proper meal in our apartment, which felt really good. We’re planning to take the girls to the Dark Sky Experience tour in the morning instead, since we missed out tonight.

Previous Day #81: Lake Wanaka and the Mount Iron Track

Next Day #83: Lake Tekapo and the Dark Sky Experience

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