Today I had the opportunity to take my sister to one of my favourite spots in New Zealand: Lake Tekapo. I am not sure what entitled Lake Tekapo to become one of my favourite spots pretty early on. The Lake is such a grand size, so blue and with the mountains as a backdrop, it is awe inspiring. I think I’ve mentioned before in other blogs about how I enjoy being near the water, as I was born and bred on the coast of Northern Ireland and spent many times at the beach, and crossing the sea with my dad on the ferry. There is something so tranquil about water. I love it.
Today’s trip will be the 3rd time I’ve been in Tekapo, and I’ve decided that if I ever get married, I want to get married in the wee church in Tekapo. It is stunning.
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| Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepherd |
We headed off after 10am, with my sister, flatmate and her friend. It was a stunning day – top temperature was 35 degrees, I felt as though I would melt.
On the way we stopped off in Geraldine, which is a small wee village, with a handful of quaint shops. We had a toilet break and ice cream and then headed on.
On my previous visits to Tekapo, (in Winter and end of Summer 2012), there were very little Luppins, which is something that Tekapo can be famous for .. they come out in full bloom in December/Jan, but slowly die off, so I was extremely pleased to get to see them, even along the road to Tekapo itself.
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| The road to Lake Tekapo – the mountains have snow, even in summer |
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| My sister and I amongst the Luppins |
Our first stop when we got into Tekapo, we initially drove a little way through it to head up to Mount John Observatory, which is about a 10 minute drive out of Tekapo. On the way, there was fields and fields of Luppin’s, so we stopped and took countless photos (see above).
Mount John Observatory is part of University of Canterbury, whose astronomy students use it. They have sunset and evening tours to look at the stars on a daily basis (weather dependent). It is a relatively small centre, with a car park, observatory and a little café. We spent about 45 minutes there taking photos and walking around. It is such a special wee spot. I could sit on that hill forever. The colour of the Lake is due to rock flour, so I have read. The glaciers in the headwaters grind the rock into fine dust, which in combination with the sunlight make this unique colour. Pretty cool!
After our trip up the hill, we headed down into Tekapo itself, which is a pretty small village really, with a handful of motels, a really posh and expensive hotel (peppers resort), hostels, a camping ground, a few tourist shops and a four square.
We went down to the Lake, which is just off to the right if you come into Tekapo, both you get to the hill where the shops are. We sat there for a good hour or more having our pre prepared picnic. It was amazing. There were lots of families and young people playing out on the water. It was warm, and life felt good.
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