The Copeland Track and Hot Pools

On my way back to Queenstown after I finished the Heaphy and Abel Tasman I did a quick over night hike. It is 17.5 kilometers (10.8 miles) up The Welcome-Flat Hut along the Copeland Track which has natural hot pools right next to it. If you are never in New Zealand it is a MUST.

They have white mucky sand at the bottom. They are a couple different pools with varying degrees of hottest. 
Here are some pictures from the hike

The hike up the hut is awesome and has great views for the Copeland river and other rivers. The hut was just rebuilt a couple years ago and the hot pools are soo awesome.

The pools look out at rocky cliff cover mountains. While I was relaxing and taking the views a couple avalanches happened. I could hear them before I saw it. A great rumble then slowing snow would start to fall fast enough that it looked like a water fall down the cliffs and rocky surfaces of the mountains. 

I went in the hot pools around 5 when I first got the hut and there were a bunch of people enjoying the hot pools

The best part was after dinner around 9 everyone else went to bed and I had the hot pools to myself. The only thing that could of made it better would have been stars but it sadly it was cloudy night.

I can't recommend it more. It is a great hike with magical hot pools at the end, who wouldn't like it!