Lakefront Backpackers Lodge Lake Tekapo

... The scenery is still just as stunning and the picnic at the Hooker Lake, back propped against a handy warm rock and cheese sandwich in hand, still just as rewarding.

As I type we are at Wanaka looking at cloud topped mountains, but with a comfy and hopefully peaceful bed, a supermarket down the road and lots of nearby walks, all is good. The Bluesmobile also got here on a surprisingly small amount of fuel so after the gas-guzzling abilities of the ...

On the road Becky at the wheel and heading for Lake Tekapo. Amazing countryside, happy to be passenger so I could absorb our surroundings on the way traveling from Ashburton to the mountain region.

On arrival we found the motorcamp and as early got a great spot with views to the lake. The Lake is a stunning bright blue colour. The weather was lovely 22 degrees and sunny much warmer than Christchurch.

We took a walk ...

... 5km and then stopped.
I then walked round lake Hayes which was exactly like mountain biking but was very pretty, good exercise and definitely worth it. At one point there was even a swing (quite a strong one) that you could sit on a go out over the water. This sort of thing you couldn’t have else where some one would sue but in NZ it was all good!
After this though I had to get back into my now very hot car and drive to Tekapo, I stopped briefly at Cromwell to ...

... and the blue Pacific were amazing and I was pleased that I had persevered.

From there I headed to Dunedin, with the wind really strong – I passed the rescue of a 4WD with a boat on a trailer which had been blown over – and then later heard a high wind warning for campervans and high sided vehicles for the stretch I had just been on! I had already adjusted to driving slower but as per usual there were idiots passing when it was not safe. The road ...

... had a hot chocolate.
Once we were free of the flood plains, the countryside began to deliver some stunning scenery. We periodically stopped along the way for photos. Unfortunately it was overcast so the lakes and mountains weren't performing at their full potential.

The last few days have been quite busy and I now have three days travelling to catch up on. I really must write about the trip though as its been just amazing. Such scenery, New Zealand has certainly come up to my expectations and more. Before I left Queenstown I walked along the shore of Lake Waikiki and actually saw The Remarkables, the mountain range overlooking the town, perhaps it was remarkable that I actually managed to see a bit more as the ...

... Wanaka road. The sky was so clear we joined an evening of stargazing with the resident astronomer where we learned to recognize the Southern Cross and had a spectacular view of Saturn and its rings and realised the constellations are upside down in the Southern Hemisphere! The highlight of our visit here though was a flight over the Southern Alps and around the peak of Aoraki Mr Cook (the ...

... got hiking again. The trail only took around an hour round trip, so we got to the lookout point, took in the beauty and took some pics before we headed back and started driving home. All I can say is that even in the beginning of autumn, when only some of the mountains are dusted with snow and others are just brown and jagged, those were some of the most beautiful mountains I've seen. I highly recommend a trip there. Then on our way back we stopped along Lake Pukaki ...

... machen wir einen Rundflug ueber den Mount Cook, Franz Josef und Fox Gletscher, Mount Tasman und den Pukai See. Der Flug ist ganz schoen ruettelig, es ist naemlich ziemlich windig heute, und so werden wir und unser Magen schoen durchgeschuettelt. Aber die Aussicht ist toll!! Aschliessend fahren zum Motorcamp von Lake Tekapo und verbringen dort die Nacht. Dillluns IX - III - MMIX Des de Twizel anirem a veure Mount Cook. La muntanya mes alta de NZ. Un recorregut d'una ...

... a healthy purchase of sashimi and smoked salmon. What better than to travel the scenic Mackenzie country while munching on sashimi? Lake Tekapo is almost as scenic as Lake Pukaki with the same blue water but lacking Aoraki as backdrop. For dinner we had a simple picnic of smoked salmon, chilli and garlic cheese crackers and marinated mussels with the aqua-blue lake our only companion.