Lake Pukaki

Where to shoot

• Peter's Lookout — the iconic viewpoint along Highway 80 looking across the electric blue lake directly at Aoraki / Mount Cook.
• State Highway 80 drive — a 55-kilometer lakeside scenic route hugging the western shore toward Mount Cook Village.
• Glacial flour shoreline — pebble and boulder beaches where the intense neon-cyan water contrasts with golden tussock grass.
• Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve — world-class stargazing across the open lake basin.
• Lake Pukaki shoreline — turquoise glacial water drawing the eye to Aoraki / Mount Cook at the lake's head
• Aoraki / Mount Cook — at 3,724 meters the country's highest peak, snow-capped above the valley
• Hooker Valley Track — a level walk to a glacial lake with floating icebergs beneath Mount Cook
• Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve — some of the clearest night skies in the world, brilliant with stars after dark

When to go

November through March for long daylight hours, lupin wildflowers along the roadsides, and the highest chance of cloud-free views of Mount Cook's summit.

What to eat

Fresh sashimi-grade king salmon from the Mt Cook Alpine Salmon shop at the southern lake outlet, raised in cold glacier-fed canal currents.

Where to stay

Base in nearby Twizel (10 minutes south) for motels and holiday cottages, or push up Highway 80 to Mount Cook Village to stay right under the peaks.