Some of the Best World Treks – Part 1

For the first one hour and a half you walk in the Mangatepopo Valley on quite easy terrain. When you come to the Soda Springs, a steep climb begins for approximately one hour. I was lucky I have to say, since it was a cold, but truly clear day. In the morning you could see some snow falling when I was walking up to the South Crater. This is also the place where Lord of the Rings was filmed. It took us another hour to get to the beautiful Red Crater. The summit of the Red Crater is the highest point at 1,886 meters, and it is then followed by a steep descent, and we had to be careful as everything was frozen. And then, the best part of the trek is when you see the beautiful turquoise colour of three lakes, called Emerald Lakes. There is also one called Blue Lake that can be seen far in the distance.

After having lunch near the lakes, we continued on the long straight (almost flat) path. This is the place of the Central Crater, near Blue Lake and this part was very windy. Not far away you come to the Ketetahi Hut, where you can buy some hot tea, since you are probably very frozen by now. After you finish your tea, it is already getting dark, so you better go down to the car park. It takes another hour or less.

I do not know why, but everywhere around New Zealand lakes have this beautiful emerald colour. Another lake, worth mentioning, is Lake Tekapo. This lake is located on the South Island.

The lake covers an area of 83 square kilometres, it is emerald in colour and lies at an altitude of 710 meters above sea level. There is a nice hike, which goes to the top of Mount John, from where you can see the lake from above. At Mount John, there is an astronomical observatory, from where you can look at the stars. On the other side of Lake Tekapo is Lake Alexandrina. On the way down there are Tekapo Springs, which offer a beautiful view of Lake Tekapo and of the far-away mountains. After a long and cold trek around Mount John, it is best to visit them and enjoy the view.

When I came back to the lake, I saw the Church of the Good Shepherd on the left shore, which in 1935 was the first church built in this region. The church is one of the most photographed in New Zealand and has an altar window that has views of the lake and the mountains.

The next hike worth mentioning is Franz Josef Glacier in Westland Tai Poutini National park, which is known for its "glaciers". The above-mentioned glacier is located five kilometres from the town of the same name. It is an easy two-hour walk, which will take you there. There are many natural attractions near Franz Josef Glacier Village on the way to the glacier, like the rainforests and waterfalls. You also pass by a small pond called Peter (Peter’s Pool). This pool shows the extent of the glacier that used to cover the area 18,000 years ago.

The fast-moving Franz Josef glacier is usually the primary reason to visit this town. Glaciers in this region move up to four metres every day, which in the glacier world is very fast (for example, the Tasman Glacier, on the eastern side, moves at only 650 millimetres a day). At the foot of the glacier, you can hear ice cracking. I have experienced this glacier by walking all the way from the town through the rainforest, passing Peter’s Pool, but if you like ice climbing, there are several options of guided glacier walks. If you have extra money, you can see the glacier from a helicopter or a small plane. So, in short, a lot to do if you are an active traveller.

Somewhere in between Lake Tekapo and the glaciers there is another emerald lake, Lake Pukaki. It is even larger and has the same beautiful colour as Lake Tekapo. As New Zealand abounds in lakes, especially the South Island, since it gets lots of rain, mountain multi-day treks are famous in this part. I did not go on these treks on my trip this time since this was just a travel holiday, but next time it would be nice to have a more hiking-oriented vacation again, to discover more about the alpine countryside New Zealand has to offer.