Driving From Christchurch to Mount Cook, Stop by Stop

On a winter’s morning, I drove from Christchurch to Mount Cook. In truth, the highlight of my journey was the drive there. People talk about destinations.

But the drive from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo and beyond to Mount Cook were the highlight. Every couple of kilometres, I was stoping to stare at the views as light changed. The scenery change from flat farm fields into rolling tussock plains and snow-capped mountains.

I enjoyed some peaceful alone time with nature without having to rush around trying to see sights. It’s not your typical stop-by-stop guidebook. It’s more of a what-to-expect when you’re driving on that road kind of article (the road conditions), what to expect out the window, things I wish I knew before heading out.

The real experience is in the drive from one spot to another, with Lake Tekapo being the natural halfway point and Mount Cook as destination.

What to See on the Drive

Lake Tekapo Surrounding

If you head directly there from Christchurch, Lake Tekapo is roughly a three-hour drive, but I took closer than four because I kept stopping. When you finally round the bend and see lake for the first time, it’s definitely worth the journey. It seems to appear out of nowhere, the blue-green color of the water are incredibly clear, so clear it’s hard not to think someone might have Photoshopped it into place.

On one side, snow-covered mountains tower over the lake. In the shallow parts, you can see all the way down to bottom of the lake. The bottom is littered with pebbles and stones.

Even in winter when ground was covered in snow, it wasn’t cold or oppressive at all. ).

I did not need them on my trip, but conditions changes rapidly up here.

Tekapo town itself is a small place, with nothing difficult to find. Parking was no issue at all during midday. The town itself is small.

It has expanded a lot over the last couple of decades, and you can see moddern apartment blocks climbing the hillsides. However, it still keeps a small-town feel. The waterfront park contains some info signs about the area’s history.

There’s also an odd-looking bronze statue of a moa (an extinct local bird) by the lakefront reserve, which is worth seeing.

But the most obvious landmark here are the Church of the Good Shepherd and it’s worth a quick stop.

In the late afternoon, I took a walk over there as light started to soften. It’s a small stone church right on lakeshore and though it’s popular with tour groups, it empty out quickly if you wait a few minutes.

The reserve has some information boards dotted around, there’s one on an old road bridge that’s been preserved nearby, and one about the planets. I took the time to read about the footbridge crossing the canal from which lake drains out. It’s worth walking down there anyway, as the canal looks just like main lake with its bright turquoise water, and there’s a beautiful white arched footbridge across it.

So I headed back over the bridge and then wandered out onto some of the rocky land with my little timber shelter, I believe that was built by Lions Club? Anyway, from here, I continued up a bit more following the shoreline. Further on, there is an old weathered jetty that looks like it hasn’t been used for many years.

The whole perspective change when you walk down the rocky spit jutting out into the water.

While I was out there the weather changed. The clouds rolled across the mountains and then they broke up into pieces as sun forced itself back through. The light got warm and golden and I ended up sitting beside lake longer than intended.

It’s not just a photo stop, give yourself more time here than you think you’ll need if you’re driving through.

Mount Cook Surrounding

From Lake Tekapo, it’s around an hour and a half’s drive to Mount Cook. But it really begins to open out here. For part of the journey, you’re driving alongside Lake Pukaki, which is another glacier-fed lake that’s even more dramatic than Tekapo.

Then, you drive gently up toward the Mackenzie Basin. Because I set off just before dawn, I reached the mountains at the best time for light. It was frosty in the tussock grass, and each pullout by side of the road seemed to offer another angle on the snow-capped peaks ahead of me.

The road is easily drivable and well maintained. It is remote, so make sure you tank up before heading out from Tekapo. There are no facilities or cell service between two.

Just me and the mountains, which catch the early morning light so beautifully, making you see why they’re worth driving all this way for. I stopped several times simply to get out and admire them from the open air, unobstructed by my windscreen. On each side of the road, the braided river flats extends into the distance.

I arrived in Mount Cook village mid morning. The mountains rose sharply out of ground right behind the village. And the mountains themselves was clear and sharp against the sky.

The village itself is small; just a few buildings at the end of the road, but there’s not a lot more to it than that: a visitor centre, a couple of hotels, and not much more. But that’s not why you’re here. You’re here for the mountains.

I stayed until late afternoon and into the evening, watching the light change. At twilight the snow covered ranges glows and the lights of the villages below just add to the craziness of it all. They are so near…

Near enough to see how the snow clings to the ridges and you can pick out the detail on the scree slopes.

This isn’t really a tick off-the-landmarks type of driving trip. You just need to give yourself enough time to enjoy the landscape that rolls by. The roads is good.

The views never stop. If you do this in winter, be sure to prepare for changing weather conditions and get ready for the cold. This is one of those drives where you end up slowing down without realizing why, because there’s always something new to look at outside the window and you don’t want to miss it.

Have you done this drive yet? Or are you planning on it? I’d love to know how your experience differed, or what other tips I might of missed.