There is a good selection of short walking tracks departing from Mount Cook Village.
The most popular hike is the Hooker Valley Walk (4 hours return), which passes Mueller Lake and crosses two swing bridges while following the Hooker River to Hooker Lake at the foot of Hooker Glacier.
Other short walks from the village include Red Tarns Walk (2 hours return), which has a steep climb to a point that affords breathtaking views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and the surrounding alpine country. Kea Point Walk (2 hours return) leaves from the DOC Visitor Centre and climbs to a viewpoint looking over Mueller Lake, the Hooker Valley, Mount Sefton and Aoraki/Mount Cook. The more challenging Sealy Tarns Track (3–4 hours return) branches off from the Kea Point Walk and climbs past abundant wildflowers to offer a stunning view of Aoraki/Mount Cook.
Several companies operate scenic flights over Aoraki / Mount Cook and Tasman Glacier. Flights by both helicopter and fixed wing places offer glacier and mountain landings.
These are expensive excursions, but they do offer some incredible photo opportunities.
The Helicopter Line has flights departing from Glentanner Park, about a 15-minute drive from Mount Cook Village. These flights include a 20-minute flight with views of mountains and glaciers ($245), a 35-minute flight with breathtaking views of Aoraki/Mount Cook ($375), a 40-minute flight past the face of Tasman Glacier to the Hochstetter Icefall taking in views of the eastern face of Aoraki/Mount Cook and the upper Tasman Glacier ($460) and a 50-minute flight over the national park taking in the entire length of the Tasman Glacier and Aoraki/Mount Cook as well as Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers on the West Coast ($640). These helicopter flights include snow landings where you can experience spectacular views only accessible by helicopter.
Air Safaris also operate from Glentanner Park. The 50-minute Grand Traverse flight uses fixed-wing aircraft (all passengers get a window seat) that takes in the braided river systems of the Mackenzie Basin, Aoraki/Mount Cook and Tasman Glacier in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park. This flight costs $405, but doesn’t include a snow landing.
Mount Cook Ski Planes operate from Mount Cook Airport, around a five-minute drive south of Mount Cook Village. They have a good choice of scenic flights with a choice of helicopter or ski plane, and all but two of the flights feature snow landings.
Flights that include a snow landing include a short 25-minute flight with views of Aoraki/Mount Cook ($299); a 35-minute flight over Tasman Glacier, Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman ($339); a 45-minute flight with views of the icebergs in Tasman Terminal Lake, Tasman Glacier, Hochstetter Icefall and of course, Mount Cook and Mount Tasman ($369); a 45-minute flight over the Hochstetter Icefall, the east face of Aoraki/Mount Cook and the full length of Tasman Glacier ($449) and a 55-minute flight that takes in Tasman Glacier in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park as well as Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers on the West Coast ($589).
The flights that do not feature a snow landing include a short 10-minute flight taking in Tasman Glacier, the Hochstetter Icefall and the eastern face of Aoraki/Mount Cook ($99) and a 30-minute around Mount Cook taking in Tasman Glacier and Hochstetter Icefall and also including Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers on the West Coast ($199).
Glacier Sea Kayaking run sea kayaking trips to Tasman Glacier that let you kayak amongst icebergs on Tasman Lake.
Tours are in intimate groups of around eight people and they offer a great way to experience the glacier, although these sea kayaking trips are more expensive than motor boat tours that also operate to the glacier.
Glacier Explorers operate boat tours on Terminal Lake that take you right up to Tasman Glacier. These tours allow you to see a glacier from a unique perspective as you glide past icebergs on the lake.
The trip takes around two and a half hours, including a 30-minute hike and 45 to 60-minutes on the lake.
There are several wildlife spotting cruises operating on Akaroa Harbour that give you the opportunity to see marine life including the rare hectors dolphin.
Black Cat and Akaroa Dolphins both run cruises departing Akaroa that give you the opportunity to see the hectors dolphin in its natural habitat.
Both companies have their offices on Beach Road with two-hour cruises departing from the adjacent jetty.
The following booking grid allows you to book Black Cat Akaroa Harbour cruises online:
The hector’s dolphin is one of the world’s smallest and rarest dolphins, which live in Akaroa Harbour.
Black Cat operate trips on the harbour where you have the opportunity to swim with the hector’s dolphin. There are only 12 swimmers allowed on each trip, which means that this is a more intimate experience compared with swimming with dolphins in other parts of New Zealand. The smaller groups also mean that there is a good chance of interacting with the dolphins.
The three-hour excursion gives you two hours on the water and it costs $160 (cheaper if you simply want to go on the cruise to watch).
Thousands of dolphins visit the waters off Whakatane during the warmer months (November–April) and several Whakatane-based companies operate dolphin and whale watching trips that allow you to swim with the dolphins.
Diveworks Charters/Whale Island Tours runs 3–4 hour trips where you can swim with dolphins for $160 ($130 if you just want to watch).
InterCity Coachlines stop in Whakatane on their Auckland–Gisborne route with direct coach services from Whakatane to Auckland, Gisborne, Hamilton and Rotorua.
The Whakatane InterCity coach stop is on Quay Street outside the i-SITE visitor information centre.
