Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park Getting there & around

Getting there & away

The village’s small airport only serves aerial sightseeing companies. Some of these may be willing to combine transport to, say, the West Coast (ie Franz Josef) with a scenic flight, but flights are heavily dependent on weather.

If you book a one-way trip to/from Mt Cook with InterCity (03-365 1113; www.intercitycoach.co.nz), you’ll end up on the morning departure of the Newmans Coach Lines service. Head to Mt Cook from Christchurch (one-way $69), Queenstown (one-way $69) and Wanaka (one-way with a change in Tarras, $53); buses stop at the YHA and the Hermitage, both of which handle bookings.

InterCity subsidiary Newmans Coach Lines (www.newmanscoach.co.nz) Christchurch (03-379 9020) Queenstown (03-441 1344) runs the Mt Cook Wanderer, a Christchurch–Mt Cook–Queenstown (or reverse) sightseeing trip costing $148/99 per adult/child from Christchurch and $114/76 from Queenstown. Connections from Wanaka are available.

The Cook Connection (0800 266 526, 021 583 211; www.cookconnect.co.nz) has shuttle services to Twizel (one-way $20) and Lake Tekapo (one-way $28). Bus services in these towns link to on to major centres such as Christchurch, Queenstown, Wanaka and Dunedin.

If you’re driving here, it’s best to fill up at Lake Tekapo or Twizel. There is petrol at Mt Cook, but it’s expensive and usually involves summoning an attendant from the Hermitage (for a fee).