Lake Tekapo

Slight change of plan saw us driving on to Lake Tekapo today at the edge of the Southern Alps. What a change in scenery from the flats fields of the Canterbury Plains to the snow capped peaks of the alps. Starting with breakfast of course!  Colin had a bacon and avocado bagel in Christchurch and was keen to replicate it in the camper.  Did so quite successfully.

 

Having spent most of the day driving, stopping only for the odd photo shoot and coffee, we were keen to find a good campsite. Thanks to the man in the information centre we found the perfect one at the Department of Conservation Lake Alexandria Reserve.  Not many facilities (hole in the ground for a toilet and that was it) but the location was second to none.

 

 

 

 

 You can't see anyone else around (unlike camper city in Christchurch) because there was no-one else.  Just us, some ducks, a pair of grebes making a nest in the willows nearby and some locals in little rowing boats drifting about on the lake fishing.

  

 

Catering was truly self contained and we had a visiting vacuum cleaner to hoover up the crumbs in the form of a friendly mallard.

 

 

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better the setting sun poured light on the mountains in the distance and the moon came up.  Then as it got dark we could see lots of stars.  The area is designated the Mackenzie & Aoraki International Dark Sky Reserve, hence the observatory on a nearby hill top which we hope to visit tomorrow.

 

 

E mails and blogging will be intermittent for a bit as access to the internet is limited around here.