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Published: January 21st 2018
Lake Tekapo
And the water is truly that color!!Yes, this country is definitely all about the amazing scenery! Stunning and combined with being very lucky with the weather, it has been amazing. Arriving in Christchurch Sunday evening, our first stop Monday morning is the tourist office. Another great informative visit, Eartha is full of suggestions and information! Within the hour she has mapped out the entire Southern island including weather and moon reports.
We are quickly on the road south to Lake Tekapo, arriving about 4 hours later. The colors of the Lake are stunning, so clear with about four colors of blue! Eartha booked us for the evening Earth and Sun tour at Mt John at 2am. Best time she tells us as there is no moon, and the weather should be clear. Then tells us to be in Milford Sound by Friday, 'should be a clear day'. And she has been correct on all accounts.
The observatory is amazing with no light pollution, it is just a maze of stars. They have three telescopes and lots of binoculars. I can confirm, I saw The Southern Cross, Mars, Saturn (although on that one, the Hubble telescope spoiled us, not near as large
nor colorful). Lots of explanations of new stars and old stars. It was fascinating!!
Then the next day it is on to Te Anau, the gateway to both Doubtful and Milford Sounds. Still undecided which we should do, the information office there convinces us to do Doubtful on Thurs, the weather should be 'glorious', which it was! Then a morning Glow warm cave, which included a boat trip across the lake and then small boats inside the cave, staring at the ceiling with the larvae glowing blue lights they emit. Pretty amazing!!
Then on Friday we drive to Milford Sound, the 2.5 hr trip taking 5 hours, so many short walks and photo stops along the way. We splurged with the overnight boat and so glad we did. The Sound is quiet as we putter along, there is just one other boat on the entire sound. Beautiful waterfalls, walls of greenery, so pristine. We love our time there. In the morning we are treated to dolphins circling the boat and a few seals just hanging out.
Hard to believe we only have a week left. This week we will work our
way up the West coast to arrive in Christchurch on Saturday. Definitely the fastest two weeks! We need to come back 😊 And as always, rushed to post this. Hope all is well with everyone!
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Grant Wiegert
non-member comment
Love those mountains
As usual lovely photos and inviting country. I love the lavender fields being purple is one of my favorite colors. How is the exchange rate in New Zealand for the dollar? Keep on truckin! Grant