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Published: December 21st 2008
View from Mt John.........
Looking over at the Snowy Southern AlpsHello
After the Banks Peninsula we headed towards the mainland again in search of somewhere to park-up for the night. We came across a beautiful little nature reserve with small campsite attached and thought it rude not to stay - after all, they had everything we needed, toilet, shower, water, stunning views and of course a trampoline ad tabogon run! After such a soggy morning we were surprised when it turned into a beautiful warm sunny evening and made the most of the "facilities"!
Our next major drive took us through tonnes of stunning scenery and South towards Lake Tekapo. The weather had closed in again as you can see from the skies behind the church and so we decided to scrap the idea of a walk and pamper ourselves instead. The springwater here is pumped up and heated in 3 big outdoor pools, overlooking the stunningly blue lake below......the cloud and rain made it even more enjoyable and the pools even more steamy - never thought I could be so comfortable in a bikini outside in such cold temperatures!
Dan - Bit of history about lake Tekapo now.........The lake was created by an enormous Glacier 1000's of
years ago that has since receded and is now filled with the melt water from the nearby Southern Alps, but the thing that makes this lake so beautiful is, because it is glacier water it contains rock sediment so fine it's suspended in the water making it look milky and refracting the sunlight to give it a bright turquoise colour!!
We received a tip off from the guy who ran the previous camp site who also gave us directions of a 'Secret' place to camp by the lake and we will be thankful to him for ever......Instead of staying on a packed piece of ground with loads of motor homes for company, we had a picturesque plot all to ourselves under some trees slap bang on the water edge gazing across the lake up at the snow capped southern alps!! oh and a couple of rainbow's thrown in for good measure!. Waking up and having brekkie in the early morning sun with only the sound of the lapping lake the birds and the beautiful sight was surreal, it suddenly hit home of how lucky we are.
Nic - While in the area we thought it rude not
to visit the mountain with my Dad's namesake and on reaching the top we were rewarded by the cloud lifting a little to give us 360deg views of the surrounding mountains...breathtaking!
From here it's a few hours drive inland and up to Mt Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, where we visited Mt Cook Salmon farm, one of the highest altitude fish farms, to feed the fish and pick up something tasty for dinner!!
More soon.
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nessynoos
non-member comment
Hanky Head
Dan, all you need now for your bun on your head is a hanky then an elastic band around it. Have a great Xmas you two, lots of love xxxxxx