Aoraki Mt Cook with Kids: The Complete Family Guide to New Zealand’s Most Spectacular Mountain
At the foot of Aoraki Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand (NZ), Lake Pukaki and the Mt. Cook Village are amazingly beautiful sites to see.
Located about 45 minutes west of Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki is a long, turquoise-blue glacier lake lined with flowers and snowy mountains. We visited Aoraki with our toddler during a two-week New Zealand South Island road trip, unsure how we would explore the national park with a toddler. Luckily, the approachable hikes are great for families because many are not too steep, and take you alongside some of the park’s most beautiful glaciers.
Whether you come for a day or a few nights, whether your children are toddlers or teens, Aoraki delivers wonder at every elevation.
Here is everything you need to know before you go: the best family hikes, glacier boat tours, stargazing, costs, food, restrooms, Māori cultural history, and the practical details that make a difference when you’re traveling with young children at the bottom of the world.
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Why Visit Aoraki Mount Cook Village in December with Kids
Aoraki Mount Cook Village is a wonderful family-friendly destination to:
Quick Tips
Before You go
- Check the weather - it can change quickly.
- Check road conditions - usually well maintained but can be icy in winter.
- You have to drive between most activities, so plan your route ahead of time and hire a car.
- Buy groceries on your way into town. There are no grocery stores in Aoraki Mt Cook Village. Stop in Twizel.
What To Pack
- Passports
- Standard diaper bag essentials
- Comfortable shoes, clothes, sunscreen, and hats
- Camera
- Ergobaby or soft baby carrier, most of Sintra is cobble stone streets and using a stroller would be difficult
Our Experience
- Destination: Aoraki Mount Cook Village, NZ
- age of our kid: 18 months
- Length of stay: 2 Days
- time of year: December
Getting There
Located about 45 minutes west of Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki is a long, turquoise-blue glacier lake lined with flowers and snowy mountains.
If you follow the road north along the lake you’ll reach the beautiful Aoraki Mount Cook Village with sweeping views of Aoraki Mt. Cook. The village sits at the end of a road with no through-route.
We stopped there to stretch our legs and explore the beauty of the Southern Alps on our way west from Ōtautahi Christchurch (about a 4 hour drive).
You could make it a day trip, or spend a few days enjoying the sites and trails along the mountain’s edge.
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Top things to do
See Lake Pukaki
Lake Pukaki is a stunning turquoise-blue lake that is fed by glacier water. While walking along the lake with our kiddo, a local told me that what makes Lake Pukaki so blue is the ‘glacial flour,’ or glacial sediment, that adds color and opaqueness to the water. This same ingredient was called ‘glacial milk’ in Patagonia.
We pulled over to take some quick photos on our drive up to Aoraki/Mt. Cook from Lake Tekapo. Keep an eye out for lookout points because the views of the mountains from this drive are incredible! Try to time this drive either before or after naptime so you don’t have to decide what is more important—epic photos or a well-rested child.
Once our toddler fell asleep, I refused to let my partner stop for a photo because I knew she would wake up and be cranky. Instead, we took a few wobbly pictures from the road while the car was in motion.
Try Salmon at the Alpine Salmon Fish Market
Support local business and try local foods
- ~20-30 minutes
While exploring the beautiful Lake Pukaki, pop into the Visitor Centre to find the Alpine Salmon Fish Market.
The salmon sold here is farmed in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, and are descendants of Northern California Salmon! They shipped salmon from the Sacramento River not too far from where we live.
Our kiddo loves fish, so we made sure to stock up on all kids of delicious salmon – dried, fresh, you name it!
Hike in the Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park
See the glaciers of Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park
- ~2-3 hours
After a long drive alongside Lake Pukaki, you’ll eventually reach the climbing village of Aoraki Mt. Cook. Aoraki Mt. Cook Village looks like an old resort town surrounded by snow-covered mountains and filled with people with weathered skin who look like they spend every moment in the icy air.
We arrived at lunchtime and pulled in to eat a quick meal before we embarked on a hike. There are a lot of easy trails in this area, most of which leave from the nearby restaurant (see below) and hotel.
We decided to do the Hooker Valley walk, which is a six-mile out-and-back trail. It is easy, with minimal hills, lots of glacier views, and several suspension bridge crossings over the beautiful Hooker River. You can hike in as far as your kids will let you and turn around when it makes sense. You’ll see some melting glacier bits and maybe even hear the glacier cracking echo in the distance!
Stop by the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park Visitor Centre
Learn about the history of the land and the park
- ~1 hour
Take a moment to visit the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park Visitor Centre to get an understanding of the place, land, and its people before you hike.
Check out the art exhibits and the short video, too! It is a nice, warm, dry place to nurse your kiddo or grab a snack before the trek.
Families can learn more about Ngāi Tahu culture and history through the excellent free displays at the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park Visitor Centre, which includes carvings and cultural interpretations provided in partnership with Ngāi Tahu.
Where to Eat in
Aoraki Mt Cook Village with Kids
Old Mountaineer’s Café and Bar
In a rustic building filled with old maps, books, and posters that take you back in time, the Old Mountaineer’s Café and Bar is an experience in itself.
We may have been the only BIPOC and mixed-race family in the restaurant, but we were in the company of many other families at lunchtime.
The restaurant has open seating, yummy pizza, beer, and lots of high chairs. There was a neat patio outside too where we would have eaten if it was warmer.
Sir Edmond Hilary Cafe
Quick service meals, including pizza and fish and chips. Reasonable prices and great views! Located in the Hermitage Hotel.
Alpine Restaurant
If you are looking for fancy or a nice sit-down restaurant, check out the Alpine Restaurant at the Hermitage Hotel. The buffet menu offers delicious options for $89 for adults and $33 for children ages 4-14 years. Kids under 4 are free!
We decided to have one nice meal while we were in the Mt Cook Village, and were lucky to get a reservation at opening (5pm) so we could make it back to the room for an early bedtime.
History Corner
To Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand’s South Island, Aoraki represents the most sacred of ancestors, from whom Ngāi Tahu descend and who provide the iwi with its sense of communal identity, solidarity and purpose. The ancestor embodied in the mountain remains the physical manifestation of Aoraki, the link between the supernatural and the natural world.
According to Ngāi Tahu tradition, Aoraki was the son of Rakinui, the Sky Father, who along with his brothers came down from the heavens in a great waka (canoe). When their canoe struck a reef and tilted, Aoraki and his brothers climbed to the high side — and were frozen by the south wind and turned to stone. Their waka became the South Island, which Ngāi Tahu call Te Waka o Aoraki, and the brothers became the highest peaks of the Southern Alps.
In 1998, a settlement between Ngāi Tahu and the Crown saw the official renaming of the mountain from Mount Cook to Aoraki/Mount Cook, to ensure the importance and significance of the mountain’s Māori heritage was not lost.
It is also worth knowing that Ngāi Tahu believe it is not appropriate to climb onto what is effectively the head of an ancestor — a perspective worth sharing with children as you walk near its base, as a beautiful lesson in respect for land and living culture.
Our Experience
We were one of the few BIPOC families traveling in the Aoraki Mount Cook Village at the time of this writing. All staff, predominantly white, were friendly and kind to us during our stay.
Learn More
- Learn more about the history of the mountain here
- To support the community, consider donating to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
Antiracist Travel Considerations
Where to stay in Aoraki Mount Cook Village with Kids
Although there are many options of places to stay in this region, we decided to stay closest to the National Park to take advantage of great views of the Alps from our hotel room while putting our kid down to an early bedtime.
Great for clean accommodations and epic views | $$
- On-site restaurant
- Planetarium ($)
- self-service laundry available ($)
The Hermitage Hotel opened its doors to visitors in 1880 and is located right in the middle of the Aoraki Mt. Cook village.
It was the perfect place for our family to stay while exploring the Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park. The rooms and beds are cozy and warm and some rooms have an epic view of the beautiful NZ Alps.
If your budget allows, check out the buffet for breakfast for a convenient and delicious start to your day.
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Looking for more?
Browse our list of local New Zealand author children’s books recommendations.
Final Thoughts
Aoraki Mt. Cook National Park is full of outdoor beauty that is accessible to families with little kids. Stop by the mountaineering village and restaurant to learn more about the climbers who have summited Aoraki’s 12,000-foot peak. The approachable hikes are great for families because many are not too steep—as long as your goal isn’t to summit Aoraki—and take you alongside some of the park’s most beautiful glaciers.
Before kids, my husband and I hiked on glaciers—we fell in love in Patagonia and got engaged in Iceland, so it only made sense that our miracle baby’s first international trip would be to a glacier wonderland like this. We were coming full circle.
Have you seen a glacier up close? Isn’t it magic? Share in the comments below!
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