Lake Tekapo & Mt. Cook
So we decided to rent a car in Christchurch, drive around the south island, then return it to Christchurch. We have a flight to the north island and we will do that afterwards in a shorter period of time.
We left Christchurch with our first destination being Mt. Cook. New Zealand doesn’t have that many roads, which makes it easy to navigate but sometimes you have to go around stuff to get places. In this case, Mt. Cook is actually much closer to the west side of the island, but since there are mountains, you have to get there from the east side.
Jim is the driver since I don’t have a license with me and driving on the other side of the road freaks me out.
As soon as we started driving, it was apparent that it was going to be TOTALLY AWESOME to drive outselves where ever we want, when ever we want. No more waiting for the bus to come and having to stay a night whenever you stop. We can stop somewhere for a few hours and leave. It is GREAT!!
The roads are pretty empty so Jim did just fine with the driving. After a while, we start seeing mountains ad tons of sheep, cows, and what looked like deer. The landscape was pretty cool. At one point, we go around a corner or up a hill, and when the scenery comes into view, we are just like WOW!! And we pull over and jump out to look and take photos. I have so many great pictures I can’t even decide which to show!!
Suddenly, we looked ahead and there were about a million sheep walking across the road and we drove right behind them. It was surreal. Here is a pretty neat picture of it from the car.
Take a look at the cover of our Lonely Planet guide. Pretty weird, huh?
We decided to stop for the night at Lake Tekapo instead of going all the way to Mt. Cook. We got there right before the sun went down and the lake was just …amazing. There are mountains all around and the color of the Lake…. I can’t even explain. It is a color that it shouldn’t be. I think it is rock particals from glacial run-off that is suspended in the water. Sometimes the lakes looked almost whitish-light blue, and other times, a bright blue that I can’t even explain. It was AMAZING. It looked to me like when you see an old movie that was shot in black and white and it was colorized and the colors aren’t quite right.
Pic: Here is a lake with the amazing color that we saw later on.
The next morning, we took our first hike (they call it “tramping”) up Mt. John. This Canadian girl told us it was easy but it wasn’t. We went arbout 5 minutes then thought about turning back. Ha ha. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard, but I’m not used to it and my new shoes are way too big and hurt my feet.
Here are some photos from the hike and the top of the mountain, which gave a pretty awesome view of the lake and other mountainy areas.
So the walk was only an hour or so.
So we came down and hit the road to Mt. Cook. Unfortunately the cloud cover was really bad and in the end, we didn’t even see it. But it was still cool to see half of the other mountains. The little village was so tiny that we stayed in, too. Just a tiny village by the mountains. And so cold! But the hostel was really nice and actually warm, for once.
We did go on a walk that day and it included going over a neat hanging bridge. We got to see a bit of the glacier, I think. Here are some more pics.
This is me on the walk, and you can see how the clouds ruin the view a bit. Way ahead you can see some water. Also, you get to see my awesome head thingy and why Jim calls me “Sir” Complains-Alot.
Pic: Me on the hanging bridge.
So we had a mighty nice time and the next day we planned to do another walk, but it was even more cloudy, so we took off and headed to Dunedin. We stopped on Oamaru for lunch and then kept going. We’re not sure what we want to see down here, but we have plenty of time and we have been going really fast.
There is a Cadbury Factory tour that is here, and I was so excited to go, but like ten people told me it was a rip off. So I didn’t go. Right now, Jim is at a Speight’s brewery tour.
The steering wheel of the car had been shaking a lot, so we took it to a mechanic and he put a new wheel on, all in one day. That was pretty cool. And of course we don’t pay.
Tomorrow we’ll be off somewhere, maybe towards Milford Sound.
Tags: New Zealand
Kelly
Beautiful. I’ve seen some photos of New Zealand on other sites so I know of what you describe. I learned that the sky is so clear because of the lack of pollution in the air. I told Ron that I want to go there, but he didn’t jump at the suggestion. ….yet!
I agree – I definitely want to go to NZ too!!!
Baaaaaaaaaa, humbug – I can see sheep about forty miles north of here.
Geez, Kelly, looks as if the Wings are going to go down again this year…. they look so old and slow. Poor Stevie took a puck right in the right eye last game and he may be done for the year, and that may have been his last game ever. And all this with you out of the country. But it looks as if NZ could field a hockey team with the way you are dressed.
Keep warm….
love, Dad
What????????? Last game ever??? WHY??
He is OLD….. the team is OLD…. they are talking about how the era is over with. Shanahan, Hull, Stevie…. these guys had the young guys skating around them they are so slow. At one time they were the best, but now…. with no finesse left in the game….. just clutching and grabbing – they are about useless. I do not even like watching hockey any more with the interference going on everywhere. The skill players do not get to show their stuff….. it is almost as bad as watching soccer……. and we know how that sucks. Probably the people you run into love soccer, but it still sucks.
We are going to Holland on Friday to see the tulips. They say your life is not complete if you have not seen the tulips…… duh. Maybe not as nice as NZ, but I hear the sand flies are a bit smaller.
love, Dad
True dat, true dat…
Yep, the truly skilled players don’t get the chance to work their magic, since there are too many Wrestlers on skates trying to “play” hockey…
…and the same can be said for soccer. That is, soccer is one of the sports with the MOST injuries, because of players getting cut at the knees as soon as they get the ball! And also, the destructive plays with shirt-grabbing etc is making it difficult for the skilled players to do their moves…
/me no like!!! Things were better a few decades ago! 🙂 🙂
Alsolutely right, Carl….. When Steve Yzerman was younger and the game was better, it was so thrilling to watch the skill players. Now, in the playoffs, it is the goons who dominate. It WAS more fun to watch then, but now….. It did not bother me that much that the WIngs lost….. I used to count the minutes until a game started, but no scoring now….. they have got to stop the goaltenders from having too much equipment also….. most goals are deflected and most shots just simply hit the goalie without him knowing it.
Got to run….. heading for the tulip farms in the morning.
Ron O
Whats with all the Red Wing chatter? Anyway sis, I LOVE your pictures. They are gorgeous. We all love you and miss you. Are you ever coming home?
Actually, Dad, soccer isn’t big in New Zealand–it is RUGBY, rugby, rugby all the way. I don’t know any of the rules but it is still a fun sport to watch!!
Yeah, I saw something on the news about the Wings’ era being over and all that. It’s sad, but it had to happen.
Yes, I am coming home… we are done in the south island on the 18th and fly to the north island maybe for 10 days, then to Rarotonga maybe 5 days and Tahiti only a day or two (too expensive) then to LA and find a flight back! I’m worried about flight availability though!! 🙁
Just some more negative hockey comments…: Grrrrrrr, we (Sweden) managed to F it up this year again in the World Championships! When will we learn that it’s NOT all about having the best team ON PAPER… – that won’t automatically win the game! Grrrrr! Towards the end of the second period we were up 3-1 against Canada… When the end buzzer sounded and woke us up from our slumber, the scoreboard said 3-5…. So, like last year, we lose to Canada in the final, after leading most of the game (and having the better team – on paper)…
Oh well, that’s it; no more complaining. The hockey season is officially OVER (since I don’t follow the Stanely Cup). Let’s try and forget this season fast.