New Zealand Roadtrip: Mt Aspiring National Park

While we were in Wanaka, we decided to take a little drive to the nearby Mount Aspiring National Park. We were quite tired from travelling, so we decided not to take on any of the longer hikes. Instead, we drove around, took in the beautiful scenery, and did a couple of shorter walks.

First, we headed to the blue pools. I had read about this online and seen some beautiful photos of the bright blue water. I have to say, this was the one part of NZ that didn’t live up to the hype for me – I was expecting some pools (given the name!) but it was more like a junction between two rivers. The water was very blue though, so half of the name was accurate! The walk itself was also really easy and short, so its accessible for everybody.

After the blue pools, we decided to do the short (but really steep!) hike up to the Haast Pass lookout. The view from the top was amazing – we were literally surrounded by mountains! We actually though we were alone up there, so we jumped out of our skin when a local lady appeared from the bushes after checking some animal traps! She told us about the nationwide effort to trap mammals like ferrets, that are eating native birds eggs. Apparently, the birds in New Zealand spend too much time walking, and so they’re becoming endangered! All in all, Mt Aspiring NP is well worth a visit if you’re in the area – I’d love to head back and do some of the longer, more challenging hikes!