We were delighted to open the blinds this morning when we woke. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky! It was very chilly though, around 3 degrees, so we put our down jackets on for the walk to the restaurant for breakfast. On the way I took a couple of shots of the reception area, which has it’s own little lake; and the view up the lake from the terrace in front of the restaurant.
After breakfast we took a short walk across the main road and down the hill to visit a place that was high on our must-see list. Neil’s nephew and brother had both told him about this sight in Lake Tekapo, and it didn’t take us long to find it …
After we checked out we backtracked a little along the lake to see one of the main tourist sights in Lake Tekapo, The Church of the Good Shepherd. We had stopped here on our visit to NZ in 2001 and I remembered what a gorgeous setting the tiny church has. Since then they have built a fence around it and the grounds are only accessible in daytime hours. We enjoyed walking around it and remembering our visit with the kids so long ago. There really can be few churches with a more beautiful setting.
We were still pinching ourselves with our good luck with the weather today. Not only was the sun shining but there was barely any wind. We set off down the road from the town and then turned up the side road that leads to the Mt John summit. The private road to the summit only opened at 10 am and we were a little early so we waited in a short queue for 10 minutes until they opened the gate and allowed us in. Mount John offers an incredible vantage point with a 360-degree view of the nearby mountains, lakes, and flatlands of the Mackenzie Basin. The summit is also the home of New Zealand’s only professional research observatory, in the heart of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. In fact, it’s the southernmost facility of its kind in the world. It was steep drive up but the view from the summit was spectacular. The cafe had just opened and there were already people sitting down to enjoy a coffee. We were content to just wander around and admire the view and count the rabbits, there were many of those little guys running around up there!
The parking lots was full by the time we left and started down the road again, it was a slower drive down as we had to give way to all the upcoming cars – it’s not a wide road!
Once back down we set off toward Lake Pukaki, another simply stunning alpine lake. The scenery along the road was glorious – wide, brown land with the snow capped mountains surrounding us as far as the eye could see. At the first Lake Pukaki viewpoint we walked all the way down to the water, across a very wide beach of tumbled stones. From here we could see Mt Cook in the distance at the top of the Lake.
A little further around the lake we stopped in at the Punatahu Visitor Centre. It offers visitors information about the area’s natural and cultural history, including exhibits on local flora, fauna, and Maori heritage. The center had a covered seating area with panoramic views of Mount Cook, providing a great spot to sit and contemplate the scenery. Adjacent to the visitor center is a life-sized bronze statue of a Himalayan Tahr, commemorating the species introduced to New Zealand in the early 20th century.
After this we turned off on te road that leads north towards Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park, We stopped at “Peter’s Lookout”, which offered a lovely view up the lake to Mt Cook. I haven’t been able to find out who “Peter” was , but his lookout is a beauty!
Back on the road, Mt Cook and it’s surrounding mountains grew larger and larger in the windscreen. Finally we arrived in Mt Cook Village and pulled in to the carpark of the Aoraki- Mt Cook National Park Visitor Centre. There was plenty of snow on the ground here. We had a look around the exhibits and decided to grab a light lunch in the nearby cafe. Hot chips and coffee with a great view.
I’d planned for us to do a couple of hikes here , weather permitting. The weather was certainly permitting today so we drove to the parking lot for the trailhead of the Hooker Valley Track. The Hooker Valley Track is constantly voted New Zealand’s Best Day Walk since it offers a beautiful view of the New Zealand Southern Alps. Unfortunately a long section of the track is currently closed for maintenance, so we would only be able to walk to the first swing-bridge. The snow lay on the ground all the way to the trailhead and on the pathways and hillside as we walked. In places it was very icy and slippery , so you really needed to watch your step.
Eventually we arrived at the first swing bridge. This was the first, and only place that we encountered any wind, as it was blowing down the river like a wind tunnel.
After walking back to the car, we decided to drive the 8km down the road to walk the Glacier View trail. which climbs a multitude of stairs up past the Blue Lakes to a viewpoint on the moraine wall. From there, you can see across the valley taking in the glacier, terminal lake and surrounding mountains. There were a LOT of stairs! I had to stop a few times on the way up and was puffing madly at the top, but it was worth it for the view. The Blue lakes are no longer blue, but green. This is because they are no longer fed by the glacier ( which would make them blue) and are home to algae ( which makes them green)
After that energetic workout we were ready to head to our hotel for the night, the lovely Hermitage Hotel. The hotel has a long history , it was first built in 1884 but it was destroyed by severe flooding in 1913. A larger hotel was constructed on the present-day site to meet growing tourist demand. It opened in 1914 and, after initially struggling, flourished under the lease of the Mount Cook Motor Company, which offered some of New Zealand’s first package tours. This hotel was completely destroyed by a fire in 1957. The current hotel was built by the government’s Tourist Hotel Corporation and opened in 1958. It has been extensively refurbished and expanded over the years and was sold to private owners in the 1990’s .
I stayed here when I was travelling with my Mum and Dad in 1979, I remember it as a very grand hotel back then. When we visited Mt Cook with the children in 2001, we stayed down the road in the Mt Cook Lodge & Motel instead. I was excited to come back and stay here this time and booked us a room with a panoramic view of Mt Cook ( although most rooms have a panoramic view of Mt Cook here!)
We enjoyed a couple of drinks in their bar with its huge windows looking up the valley to the mountain. The dining options here didn’t really suit us tonight – they have an evening buffet in their main restaurant or we could have a charcuterie or cheese platter in the bar. Neither really appealed, so we decided to walk down the road to the Chamois Bar & Grill that is attached to the Motel & Lodge. We both felt like a burger and their offering was juicy and delicious!
As we walked back up the road to the Hermitage we watched the sunset lighting up the top of the mountain in a glow of pink. We have our fingers crossed for sunshine again tomorrow as we head down to Queenstown.
