Mount Aspiring National Park - Among the waterfalls of the misty mountains - New Zealand

Now they rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure, and with a knowledge of the road they must follow over the Misty Mountains to the land beyond.

The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

New Zealand is the land where the high mountains of the south meet the dramatic fjords and desolate wilderness. One of the places that appear in the "Lord of the Rings" films is Mount Aspiring National Park on New Zealand's South Island. A national park that offers wonderful hikes and truly fabulous landscapes among misty and rainy mountains.

Mount Aspire National Park is located on New Zealand's south-west South Island and is the country's third largest national park. The national park is named after the 3.033 meter high mountain Mount Aspiring, which in clear weather is present everywhere in the area.

The largest part of the national park is inaccessible wilderness that can basically only be reached by helicopter, but it is possible to experience many of the national park's most beautiful places from Haast highway. The Haast highway takes you through the national park from the tourist-dense town of Wanaka to the coastal town of Haast through lush rainforest, wild rivers, snow-capped mountains and misty ridges.

There are plenty of hiking trails along the Haast highway, so it's important to start the day early to make it to all the stops. The actual drive from Wanaka to Haast takes just over 2 hours, but the hikes and stops can easily take another 8 hours.

One of the most popular hikes is the 3-kilometer round trip trail to Blue Polish. A hike that takes you over suspension bridges to natural blue (and icy) pools at the mouths of two rivers. Expect to stay for a while at the blue pools, the stop can easily take 1,5 hours.

Two other stops down the road that shouldn't be missed are Fantail falls and Thundercreek falls, two wild waterfalls that spread magical water mist in a large area around the falls.

Summer (ie Swedish winter time) is the best time to visit Mount Aspiring, but be prepared for changeable weather during the short summer. It is not unusual to have four seasons on the same day and it often rains. The annual rainfall in the area is between 300 mm and 8000 mm.