We woke to another very cold but bright morning, no fog here in Fairlie, which gave us a rather good view of our surroundings:

Once we'd eaten and used the nice hot campsite showers, we set off for Lake Tekapo. A pleasant enough drive with interesting sections punctuating the long boring bits where I just set the cruise control and concentrated on watching for the next bend.

In due course we arrived and it was all that the guide books promised and more. The best photos we've seen just can't really prepare you for the spectacular panoramas, which can change dramatically, by just walking around a bit. Here's Barbara sitting in front of the Church of the Good Shepherd. It does have a little bell but she didn't get offered the chance to ring it.

Then we moved the motorhome to a more picturesque spot for a lunchtime picnic:

And just to prove that Charlie's here in body as well as spirit, here we both are with the pretty little church in the background again:

Then on to Lake Pukaki where we stopped for a brief photo opportunity. Someone else happened to be in this shot of the lake with Mt. Cook behind:

But here's Barbara with a similar view:

Then we moved on further up the valley to Mt. Cook Village and parked by the Sir Edmund Hillary Centre to get this view of Mt. Cook with clouds rolling over the range south of it:

And then off to find parking for the night. The camping was a few kilometres down the valley and easy enough to find, though we'd somehow missed the signs on our way up. The site was unsurprisingly basic, being in such a remote area, but had nice flat, level parking areas. We'd been warned that some 'weather' was due overnight, and they were right, the motorhome was buffeted much of the night by the howling gales and rain, but at least it didn't hail as predicted. But we slept well and set off in due course for pastures new.

written by  Saros on May 4, 2009 from Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
from the travel blog: The Hairy Animal 2009 World Road Trip
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Great photo's. Looking forward to more.

written by  Wanda and George on May 5, 2009

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