New Zealand: Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park

My last stop en route to Queenstown was at Aoraki/Mount Cook.        

I stayed at the YHA hostel here, it's like a little log cabin dorm.  I was really impressed by the kitchen setups in the hostels I stayed at in New Zealand.  I got the "Mt. Cooked' breakfast special, which means you get eggs, bacon and toast that you cook yourself :).

 

Something about the eggs here... best I've had

I hiked the Hooker Valley Track after breakfast, which takes you to a glacier at the end.  It was a very flat 5.5 mile hike, and even though it was foggy it was still beautiful.  The terrain here just makes you feel like you are on a different planet.

I could see the blue glaciers at the top of the mountain!

End of the track

On the drive out of Mt. Cook I passed by Lake Pukaki, a beautiful blue glacial lake.

Made it to Queenstown in the afternoon and dropped off my rental car.  Queenstown is the Adventure Capital of the World, so it's pretty much a requirement that you do some adrenaline-pumping activity here (bungy jumping originated here, and you can also do skydiving, canyon jumping, canyoning, mountain biking, zip-lining, jet boating, etc.).

I stayed at Nomads hostel here for one night, leaving early in the AM to head to Milford Sound.  I went to the "free dinner" offered by the hostel, which turned out to be the worst pasta carbonara I've ever had and served in the  back of an obnoxiously noisy bar (I sound old as shit now).  On the plus side, I met 2 awesome girls from Sweden who were studying engineering and taking a break from uni to travel through Australia and campervan through the South Island of NZ.  We bar-hopped through Queenstown and stumbbled upon World Bar... playing all of my 90s/2000s jams AND serving cocktails out of teapots... whaaaaat.  💕 👯