The drive from Queenstown to Cromwell was mountainous and sinuous. It followed a river. but that river has cut a narrow gorge so the road was perched precariously on the side of this gorge. This section is only 33 miles but it took close to an hour to traverse. At least there was no rain! From Cromwell the road straightened out and it followed a few lakes. We had a few more tight places to drive through but eventually got to some flat and straight roads. The above picture is of Mt Cook taken from the shore of Lake Punatahu. The lakes were a brilliant blue due to the rock powder flowing from the glaciers. Mt Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand and is 12,200 feet tall. The snow is clinging to the face of the mountain even in the height of summer. We stopped at the visitor center at Lake Punatahu where they sold fresh salmon products. We bought a 500 gram sashimi package with ginger and wasabi. Even though that is over a pound of salmon it was devoured in no time. Partly we were hungry, partly the glorious lake side setting deserved a lingering lunch but mostly the salmon was so fresh and tasty that we ate it all. Earlier we had stopped to stretch at a roadside park. That was after driving an hour and it was another hour and a quarter to Lake Punatahu. So we only had 45 more minutes to get to Lake Tekapo. Lake Punatahu had a visitor center and a single lodge but lake Tekapo has a whole small town. Restaurants, a supermarket and lots of hiking trails. We checked in at 2 PM and got settled. We hiked behind the town and then down onto town, a 2.5 mile hike in total. There is a beautiful pedestrian beach down by the outlet of the lake. We stayed up to see the sky as this area has worked to preserve its dark skies. It did not get fully dark till after 11PM and there were a few clouds but we were treated to some beautiful skies. We saw the southern cross, the Magellanic clouds which are mini companion galaxies, and Mars.
Coming out of Queenstown and into the gorge
Unstable hillside
Past Cromwell
Our first sight of a mountain glacier
So many hues of blue
The land flattens out
It was brown due to the rain shadow effect of the mountains
Some large uplifted rocks
Lone tree hill
Some more curves to traverse
These were easier to manage than the earlier road
Montana like landscape
A cool stream by the roadside park
Giant hay bales as far as the eye could see
Salmon Farming
Such a beautiful blue
These lakes are very large
Our first sight of Mt. Cook
Rugged and craggy
The lunch of champions!
We watched this guy piece his way down to the waters edge to get a sauce pan of water from the lake
Constants of colors
The water sparkly
Here is another memorial to the sheep!
Twizel was the nearest "town" to Lake Punatahu
An inspirational quote in the visitor center
Everybody was taking pictures and selfies
Some more dignified than others
Heading out
Looking back
Off we go
We continued to get glimpses of Mt Cook
And the New Zealand Kahu, a type of harrier, top right
Now we can really drive the speed limit
Our last sighting before Cook slips behind the foothills
Some observatories on the top of this hill
Lake Tekapo is mighty blue
An observatory in town
We have arrived at the panorama cottage
A fine avocado colored kitchen
Spacious liking area
Big deck (pronounced "dick" here)
This bridge is calling to us
First we hike up the hill
Along the river
Through tall pines
Looking back at some large cliffs
The smell of the pines was divine
The Southern Alps
A lupin that grew in a spiral
Turned around and headed back towards the lake
Golden wheat
A dam at the end of the lake and the footbridge
These pinecones were 18 to 24 inches long, clearly the largest pine cones we have ever seen
Glad to see these gladiolas
A big cloud forming
The dam was built for flood control
Almost to the footbridge
The old church at the waters edge
Lake Tekapo
Some clouds rolling in
A little neighborhood at lakes edge
Leslie taking a call on the cone phone
It has been 249 Days since we began our Migration
