First thing this morning, we took a visit to the supermarket to stock up on supplies for our journey.
Next, we headed south from Christchurch on the Inland Scenic Route heading towards the distant snow capped mountains. We stopped several times to admire the views. We crossed a number of rivers where the water was incredibly blue. At one stop a school was enjoying some outdoor adventure sports in the river; kayaking, rafting and drifting with the current.
We passed through Geraldine,and Fairlie,headed for the famous Lake Tekapo. The lake was wonderful and again the water an incredible shade of blue! We visited a small statue of a sheep dog, showing the local's appreciation for the great help they had been to the sheep farmers. We also visited a small church, the Church of the Good Shepherd, which was really quaint.
Afterwards we found a Department of Consevation (DOC) campsite and set up our tent by the lake. We ate dinner and waited patiently for it to get dark ... one thing Lake Tekapo is well known for is STARS as it is a 'black sky' area. We put out our picnic blanket, lay back and watched the amazing display above. Shooting stars, great constellations, planets... and Mars ... WOW! There were so many stars and we used a smart phone app to identify some of the main constellations and planets.
Next, we headed south from Christchurch on the Inland Scenic Route heading towards the distant snow capped mountains. We stopped several times to admire the views. We crossed a number of rivers where the water was incredibly blue. At one stop a school was enjoying some outdoor adventure sports in the river; kayaking, rafting and drifting with the current.
We passed through Geraldine,and Fairlie,headed for the famous Lake Tekapo. The lake was wonderful and again the water an incredible shade of blue! We visited a small statue of a sheep dog, showing the local's appreciation for the great help they had been to the sheep farmers. We also visited a small church, the Church of the Good Shepherd, which was really quaint.
Afterwards we found a Department of Consevation (DOC) campsite and set up our tent by the lake. We ate dinner and waited patiently for it to get dark ... one thing Lake Tekapo is well known for is STARS as it is a 'black sky' area. We put out our picnic blanket, lay back and watched the amazing display above. Shooting stars, great constellations, planets... and Mars ... WOW! There were so many stars and we used a smart phone app to identify some of the main constellations and planets.
