|
  | |  |
Lake Tekapo
Entry 11 of 22 | show all | print this entry |
|
I arrived at Tekapo Lake at about 2:30 in the afternoon. The sun was out and the lupins were in full bloom and the lake was a clear blue from the glacier, however, the arrival entry was not as grand or picture perfect as I had imagined. The Church of the Good Shepard was there along with the monument to the shepherd dog but somehow I imagined it would outlined with rocky mountains at elevation. Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki are actually both reservoirs used to hold water for the residents on the south island.
I found Lake Pukaki to be a little prettier and it was a bit bigger, but something was missing and I couldn't really figure out what it was. Both valleys were carved out by glaciers, but the lakes or reservoirs were both man made. I stayed at the Lake Tekapo campground for the night, and I know some will hate me for saying this, but my view was blocked by one hundred foot pine trees. You can hike Mount Scott and see the observatory from the campground which is not a bad option. It not so much that I was let down by Lake Tekapo, it was just I was expecting so much more in the was of size and impact effect if that makes sense.
The pictures on the net I saw just don't seem to really compare to what you see in person. I was expecting nature and what I saw was man made. I am sure New Zealand will continue to promote the beauty of this lake, but it really didn't make that much of an impact on me.
The following morning, I was still excited because I was going to see Mount Cook along with Lake Pukaki, a double combo sure to impress. Lake Pukaki was prettier and it is really the perfect spot to just pull over and have a picnic lunch or stretch out and admire the view. I headed along the shoreline of Lake Pukaki on my way to Mount Cook and was still excited to see new Zealand's monument, Mount Cook, the same mountain Sir Edmund Hilary climbed before conquering Everest. It was sprinkling a little bit but the light rain did not bother me and the views of the mountains, braided rivers, and lake were fantastic (a little cloudy but made for great effect). Driving along this stretch of freeway reminded me of Helms Deep in the two towers even though this wasn't the location, it sure felt like it. New Zealand is one of only four countries in the world that had braided rivers. The drive was nice as I say and I passed several travelers on their ten-speed bikes (they looked happy and gave a friendly waive even though they were getting wet).
I noticed as I was getting closer to Mt Cook, it started raining harder and by the time I got to the Hermitage hotel I could only see the base of the mountain because the cloud cover was so thick. This really put a damper on my mood even though I didn't think that was possible because I was in Lord of the Rings country. I had wanted to hike the Hooker valley at the base of Mt Cook and would have done so if it weren't raining, no pouring buckets. I said oh what the heck and pulled into the hermitage hotel because the hotel is some what of a new Zealand icon in and of itself. I had read that staying here costs a minimum of $300 to $600 a night, not that it's important, but by the looks of the rain, I say it was going to hang around a while and glad I wasn't paying for it. The hotel is rather simple, modern, but not too much so and supposedly (I couldn't tell because I couldn't see twenty five feet in front of me) sits right under Mount Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand.
I walked around the hotel a little bit, nothing too impressive, just simple luxury and decided to have a cappuccino at the café in the hotel and check e-mail (what else was I supposed to do?) The cappuccino was the best, honest, best cappuccino I ever had anywhere. I finished up my little coffee and headed out feeling a little sad I didn't get to do what I had planned for the day. It rained all the way to Twizel, which is half way between Mt. Cook and Lake Wanaka. I know San Diego weather has spoiled me a little bit, but I though I was traveling during summer months and was expecting I guess constant sunshine. I headed south to the Fighter pilots museum near Lake Wanaka and the rain still persisted. The museum was a nice little diversion and home to Ian Brodie, the author of several WWII books about the Anzacs and location guidebook for the Lord of the Rings. I headed south to Lake Wanaka passing the puzzling world and archery range, where elves and orcs practiced for the Lord of the rings films. I arrived into Lake Wanaka and it was a nice little town and the lake was surrounded by snow capped mountains and Mt Aspiring park in the distance.
The clouds hung close to the mountains giving a peak of snow capped peaks every now and then. This was a beautiful place I though, not like flat, characterless Lake Tekapo or Lake Pukaki and the rain had stopped. I wasn't ready to end my day or pull over yet and drove around to the Treble Cone ski field to take in some more of natures surroundings. I really couldn't decide what to do since it was really to late to take in any activities, like cannoning, skydiving (the weather was not right for it or I'd be doing it), or kayaking so I headed south to the mighty Queenstown, Lake Wakitipu, king of the southern lakes. The hill were of brown tussock and the sky was a grey and overcast, but not raining at least. I reached the crown summit and took in my first view of Queenstown to the south,. The road from the Crown Range to Queenstown was just completed in the year 2000 and is the highest paved road in new Zealand. It was really kind of cold when I got out of the car, and the though of isn't it supposed to be winter? The road has a lot of twist and turns and not for those don't travel well. I had images in my mind of what I expected Queenstown to be like, like I said the king of the southern lake region, with it alpine environment and beautiful landscape. As I made my way into, mind you this is my first impression, I noticed all the hillsides were terraced and covered with condos/apartments. I could see Lake Wakitipu to my left but not real well because of all the terracing filled with hotels, apartments, and houses competing for views of the Lake. It had started to rain again and like I said it was a little cold for being on the cusp of spring and summer. I had a general idea of the streets and where the campground was as the location wasn't too difficult to find. When you make your way into downtown Queenstown the streets, camp and shotover, are filled, and I do mean filled with I-centers and nothing but commercial advertisements for kayaking, bungy jumping, dart river safaris, and any other extreme sport you could think of. I already know this is the extreme sport capital of the world, why do I need to be reminded of it every five feet? The feeling really was worse than being in a tacky amusement park. This is Queenstown I thought, not at all what I was hoping for, this paradise deep in the south island with crystal clear lakes and mountain views forever. I was not all that impressed to be honest and a little turned off by all the advertisement an commercialism going on as you make your way into downtown (the ads were basically screaming, signs pointing).
I made my way into the top ten holiday park off camp street and it was extremely tight and didn't give you much room to move around. For such a small town why do they have to cram everything into small spaces, this is a mountain town with lots of space, not a small urban congested city (uggg overkill man). I arrived in Queenstown a few days early of my activities I had booked, but was a little excited to get to see the town. The person who gave me the powered site seemed to be upset that I was willing to pay thirty bucks a nigh, why did she care, I heard Queenstown was expensive, but that's for me to decide. The view of the Remarkables is impressive but I couldn't understand why everything was so congested (what was the need). I was a little afraid it would come off like Big Bear since I knew it was a popular place. Queenstown is a pretty place but suffers from over-commercialism and lake of planning. It was fun to walk around downtown for a little bit even though it was raining, but I did not see one person with an umbrella, I think this is just how it is for the weather. I spent one more night in Queenstown because I had done a lot of driving and decided I would head over to Dunedin next to see what it was like.
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from New Zealand or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
2 votes 
This is a top pick!
