Lake Tekapo

November 28-29th Lake Tekapo

For the last 2 days, I have taken in the nature & simple beauty of this spot. There is not a great deal to do in Lake Tekapo, & I like that! With no grocery store or ATM it is not a hotspot. Yesterday I went for a hike along Mt John, one of the nearby hills encircling Lake Tekapo. This 3 hour walk started with clouds & lifted to a super sunny, hot day within less than an hour. Even the scruffy merino sheep were hot & searching for any bit of shade they could find. Not much to be had, with no trees or even much tussock grass to scurry under. I walked my way on the trail scattered with sheep & horse droppings from the treks that take place along the path. It was so quiet, just the sounds of birds & sheep & the subtle slapping of waves down along the shoreline. After climbing the steepest part, the panoramic views from the landings & summit were truly breathtaking. With perfectly clear skies, not a cloud to be found I could see the whole range of Southern Alps, even Mt Cook. Lake Alexandria, to the left of Lake Tekapo, is stark black in comparison to Lake Tekapo, as it is a fresh water lake. Motuakik Island felt up close with its large trees & greenery. My Mt John panoramic included: Lake Alexandria, Lake McGregor, Cass River Delta, Motuaiki Island, Mt Sealy, Mt Sefton, Braemar Dome, Forks River, Mt Stevenson, Gammack Range, Cass Valley, Hall Range, Mistake Peak, Mt Sibbald, Mt Erebus, Godley Valley, Mt Chevalier, Macualay, Valley, The Thumb, the 2 Thumbs Range, Rouhd Hill Ski Field & Richmond Ridge. I took a break, & a lemon, lime & bitters up at the Mt John Observatory Café before heading back down the other pine tree forest side. & Yeah, I went for another swim in Lake Tekapo!! I also revisited the Church of the Good Shepherd for more photos, & check out the Collie Shepherd statue, giving thanks to the great dog that does such hard work for all the shepherds in the region. Oh & more lupins………. And the sun setting colours on the surrounding hills, totally looks like the Lonely Planet NZ cover. Then it was off to the Mt John Earth & Sky Observatory tour. Unfortunately, no photos to prove it (as they wouldn’t turn out) but we were bundled up in puffy coats & shuttled up the mountain. We learned about how the town & all the observatory only use these red low pressure sodium bulb lights as they give off less scattered light than traditional bulbs & therefore all the researchers on Mt John to be more effective in learning about the night’s sky. Now the guides were super informative, & used many different ridiculously high definition telescopes to show us constellations, planets, nebulas. satellites & crazy other astronomy facts & features. All I could picture were all those great science geeks finding the job of their dreams! The Mt John observatory is the largest in the southern hemisphere, with 2 massive telescopes (1m & 1.8m lenses) that allow some fantastic research findings for the University of Pennsylvania & Canterbury University in Christchurch. Currently the lab is manned by 3 Japanese & Alan Killmore (sp?) & his wife live up there permanently & are the leading astronomer gurus of all of NZ. I was able to clearly see……. The Southern Cross, the Pointer Stars, Orion, Cannus Major & Cannus Minor, Jupier & 4 of its moons, & soooooo much more. It was interesting to note so much in the Southern sky that us northern folk may not have seen before. The Northern sky I am use to was in fact, upside down now in my southern location…… how cool. Definitely a fun time with the use of these telescopes……………. But part of me was really longing for a dock on a lake as that is where some of my best star gazing moments have occurred. 



As for today, it is a read my book in the shade, catch up on blog & e-mails….. & stay out of the sun since it is super hot here with hardly any shade or relief. I already have a great walking tan going, tank top, shorts & shoe lines.



Love & miss you all



On to Mt Cook tomorrow for more hiking!