New Zealand Southern lights at Mueller Hut, Mount Cook National Park

The famous Mueller was opened in July 2003 by Sir Edmund Hillary, and is situated just below Mt Ollivier – the first mountain Sir Edmund climbed. He was the first human on the Mt. Everst, what makes this place so special. Surrounded by huge glacier walls you have a perfect view into the Mueller Lake and towards Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand.

From end of March until September / October you might be lucky with the Aurora Australis during the night, if the forecast is strong enough to reach this region. Obviously the Milky Way is beautiful too.


Check your camera settings before the evening and make sure you understand everything. Use a tripod, the manual focus, put of the stabilization, and use the lowest aperture. In comparison to this you can try out what ISO fits to the shutter speed.

This 9.1-km out-and-back trail with 1056 meter of elevation is a challenging hike and requires a certain level of fitness. For the first 500 meters of the trail you need to hike on stairs, afterwards the terrain gets a bit more rough with steeper sections of gravel.

Always inform yourself about the weather conditions and if there is snow on the track. Probably bring prepared equipment for those sections.

If you want to stay the night in the hut you need to reserve the hut before you go. The department of conversation as a professional homepage with all important informations: https://www.doc.govt.nz/

Parking spot is directly at the trailhead.