Mount John and Lake Tekapo

From Oamuru we drove up into the big mountains and to a site which wins every prize going for beautiful views at Lake Tekapo. It is not really possible to describe just how lovely this area is, an impossibly blue lake (due to the glacial deposits in the water reflecting the sky), ringed by mountains with an every changing show of light and shadow, even on a cloudy day. We parked the van on a bluff above the shore and could have just sat there and looked at the water for the next two days. The air was crystal clear and I have never seen so many stars. The University of Canterbury has an observatory up there and you can see why. One of our first tasks was to go out and buy some large warm, NZ fleecies, as nothing we’d brought was quite up to the coolness of the mountain air. After a fantastic Japanese meal (they farm salmon just up the road which makes for very fresh sushi and sashimi), watching the sun set over the lake, we had an early night in order to make a quick getaway for our hike.
We couldn’t really camp at the bottom of a mountain called Mount John and not walk up it could we? We set off along the lake side on the most beautiful sunny morning watching the light changing on the mountains opposite, then circled round into the high country, with snow capped mountains on the horizon and the most amazing views. The pull up to the summit was better for having gone the long way round but it was still pretty steep at times but the view was more than worth it. The observatory is on the top of Mount John which means there is a road up and a cafe on the top. Whilst it’s really nice to get a great coffee and to feel smug because we climbed rather than coming in a car, it’s also a bit annoying to have to share the view! However, I did laugh as we had several conversations with both English and Kiwi couples about the various routes up, the view and the steepness of the climb and it was quite clear that, in our new ‘Wild Kiwi’ fleecies, staying in a camper van, everyone saw us as intrepid outdoor types who send their lives tramping and camping – if they only new what city softies we really are! We came down the shorter, steep way and headed straight to the hot springs and spa where we’d booked a couples retreat for the afternoon. After several hours of massage, facial, sauna and bathing in the hot spring water pools our legs were fully recovered and we were able to make the 20 minute walk into town for supper without any problem. It was a fabulous day in the most gorgeous countryside.