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I'm getting progressively more behind with this blog, it's over 5 months since I was at this stage of my NZ journey. I'm not sure where the time has gone. Anyway, this part of the story was really the last chapter in my circuit of South Island - it was almost time to fly to Melbourne for Christmas.
We left Dunedin and drove along the coast, stopping for a while at Moeraki to see the boulders which are strewn along the beach - my lonely planet tells me they were formed millions of years ago around lime crystals within the surrounding mudstone, for which I will just have to take their word. After Moeraki we arrived in Oamaru, which looked like an interesting town, with lots of impressive old buildings built from the local limestone - sadly we were here just for half an hour, most of which was spent in the local supermarket stocking up with food for the next few days in Tekapo. And so we headed for Mackenzie Country - the high country around Aoraki/Mt Cook, named after James 'Jock' Mackenzie, NZs most famous outlaw, a sheep rustler who back in the mid-1800s roamed around this then
uninhabited area with his stolen flocks. He was finally captured in 1855, released in 1856 after a series of escapes, and then apparently disappeared forever. It was a scenic journey through rugged, open country, with the mountains getting ever closer. We finally arrived at the hostel in Tekapo, which was right on the edge of the lake, and the perfect place to spend a few days relaxing.
The next day I took a local shuttle bus into Aoraki/Mt Cook NP - it's probably still my favourite day of my whole journey so far. I left Tekapo early in the morning, under a clear blue sky - but as we got further into the national park it got progressively cloudier, and by the time we arrived in Mt Cook village there was no sign of the mountains. I set off walking along a track to Kea Point lookout - and as I walked, the clouds started to lift just a little, giving brief glimpses of snowy mountains. As I reached the lookout the clouds were getting higher and higher, and I just sat and watched as Mt Cook slowly appeared, until eventually it was there in front of me under
a cloudless sky. I can still picture it vividly as I write this 5 months later - it was magical. I spent the rest of the day walking in the Hooker Valley, which was just fantastic - hence the slight overload of photos 😊 I've included one of the Alpine memorial, to mountaineers who have lost their lives in the national park, just because the very first name was a Sydney L King, from Rickmansworth - an unexpected reminder of home while I was standing in the middle of the Southern Alps. He was killed by an avalanche after ascending Mt Cook, back in 1914.
Driving back to Tekapo at the end of the day was similarly amazing - we had the most stunning views of the mountains across the turquoise water of Lake Pukaki. It was almost surreal, like you were looking at a painting instead of real life.
My last day at Lake Tekapo was spent walking around the lake, and relaxing in the hot pools near the hostel, looking out across the water to the mountains beyond.
Awesome 😊 Can't wait to go back one day.
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