Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park

Mt Cook was my primary exposure to the Southern Alps. Mt Cook National Park is a 3-hour drive from Queenstown. There are only two roads in the national park: the main one through the Hooker Valley and another through the Tasman Valley. Roads only cover a small portion of the park so hiking or trekking, as the locals would say, is the only way to see the majority of the park.