Our trip was nearing its end, with one full day left to explore the South Island of New Zealand before we flew back to Auckland and then on to San Francisco. There was still so much to see, the Tasman …

We left Lake Hāwea, near Wanaka early, our journey to Mount Cook was only about 207 km but we wanted to get there in time  to hike one of the many trails we’d been told about. We knew we were …