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Published: February 8th 2007
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Lake Alexandrina
So tempting to just borrow a canoe for a few hours. It was a cool and windy but clear morning this morning so I trundled down to the lakeside to feeding the ducks again (somehow I never get tired of doing this and the ducks don't seem to mind). It must have been too cold for the ducklings as they didn't put in an appearance this time which was just as well as the other ducks started fighting with each other over the bits of bread I was throwing in.
We filled up our water bottles from a local spring and took a walk across the tussocky grassland towards a lone big rock we could see in the distance. It was a steeper climb up to the rock than we had anticipated but it felt good to really stretch our legs again after so many hours driving around in the van. When we finally made it up there, we were disappointed to find the rock was completely covered in graffiti but we still got a great view of the lake and the far away mountains.
After packing up the van for the next leg of the journey, Glynn suggested we take a drive up a nearby road up to the
Mountain Bear
Jish enjoys a moment's peace overlooking Lake Alexandrina. Mount John Observatory nearby. It was a bit of a hair-raising drive up negociating the hairpin bends and careless drivers coming downhill but once we reached the top, the views were just incredible. We could see for 360 degrees right the way around us from the little campsite we had stayed at by the lake to the frosty ranges of the Southern Alps. The air was crisp and clear and visibility couldn't have been better. If ever there was a view to take my breath away, this was it - with bells on! The Observatory runs stargazing tours on clear nights for NZ$47 and given the conditions today it was sorely tempting to stay just for that but reluctantly we moved on.
After our stop at Lake Tekapo yesterday with all the masses of tourists, we were totally surprised to find the visitor centre at Lake Pukakio, just 20 minutes down the road, to be almost devoid of traffic. It was especially surprising as Lake Pukaki was equally as blue and gorgeous as the Tekapo only this time the view of Mount Cook was even more impressive, if that could be possible. I asked at the information centre about
Graffiti Rock
Damn, I forgot to bring a bucket of paint with me! where to find 'The Pines', a freebie campsite mentioned in the Rough Guide, and was directed to a road turning off just by the dam. It was only about 3pm but there was absolutely no-one around. We picked our spot right by the lake's edge with an awesome view of the mountains all around us; we found the long-drop toilets and clean running water and proceded to make ourselves right at home. The sun was still streaking across the sky and for the first time since starting our road trip, we felt truly relaxed. It was tempting to take a dip in the lake but the water was ice cold - not surprising considering the lake is fed by a nearby glacier!
A little later on, several other campervans had parked around the site and a Kiwi Experience bus full of backpacker types pulled in. We watched them all pitching their tents and were then stunned to see a couple of girls run down to the lake and jump right in! Then another group of girls went tentaively in so we thought perhaps it was time to have a go ourselves. A quick change into our swimwear and sandals
Graffiti Rock
Glynn checks out the local rock scene (have I used this caption before?) ( there were lots of rocks in the water) and we were dipping our toes into the freezing cold water trying to muster up the courage to plunge further in. Willing yourself to dunk down into the cold isn't easy but once we were wet all over, the cold really didn't feel so bad any more. With the sun beating down, it was actually a very refreshing way to cool down.
Back at the campervan, we dried off in the sun and Glynn made cheese toasties for dinner in the frying pan on our little camping stove. As the sun began to set casting golden glows across the sky, we sat back and watched the stars come out. It was a wonderfully clear night - so clear in fact that in addition to seeing thousands of twinkling lights above us, Glynn got to see the Milky Way for the very first time. I have only ever seen it once (in Cyrpus about 10 years ago) and it was just as thrilling as I remembered. As if that wasn't cool enough, we also spotted a couple of passing satellites tracking across the heavens and even saw a shooting star. Awesome!
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