We passed by Christchurch again on our way, and again we ignored it completely. Although it still is an important city where most of the travelers start their trip around NZ, from what we heard it remains largely 'under construction' after the last big earthquake of 2011 and there's not much to see or do now. So we skipped it and made Lake Tekapo our first stop instead.
The lake, like many others in this area, is glacier-fed and therefore beautifully blue, and the scenery around makes this one of the most expensive places for backpackers in the South Island. But to have a lunch with a view is free...
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| Our new favorite food |
As we were quite close to the
Mount Cook National Park again, I wanted to take a little detour and see Mt. Cook once more at least from a distance. But as we were approaching, we could see huge clouds in the distance covering everything.
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| Rain battering against the waters of Lake Pukaki |
The detour was canceled and we soon arrived to our hostel for the night - merino and dairy farm near Omarama. The owner, very peculiar and not too congenial type, also runs a backpackers hostel obviously very popular with Germans - all the signs were written in German! Despite the quirks of the owner we liked the place a lot, especially the views from our room.
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| The German hostel |
And after a couple more hours on the road the following day we were back in Queenstown, where we first came
almost a month ago. Of all the towns this must be our favorite, not for the town itself, but because of the surroundings. There are many places by the lake and with mountains all around here, but none quite like Queenstown.
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| Fall came into Queenstown while we were gone |
We drove up and down along the lake, walked along its shore and enjoyed the sunny weather while it lasted - the forecasts for the following days were just horrid.
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| Parasailing on Lake Wakatipu |
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| Sun was shining but we both wore our jackets. Not this guy... |
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| Our last lunch |
There was one last thing to do before leaving, to say goodbye to my trekking shoes. It may sound silly, but I've had them for 10 long years and they traveled the world with me, so I felt like they deserved a special place to rest. I think I found just the spot...
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| RIP |
Our time in the South Island is over. North Island will have a tough time trying to match what we saw here as it will be hard to beat.
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So your shows got tired of you? and decide to stay in the south? After 10 years of walking together .... I don't think they deserve such a beautiful landscape to be it's last. They just abandoned you on the most important moment. How dare they?
ReplyDeleteIt was me who abandoned them. I think Carros del Foc killed them, they were never the same afterwards
ReplyDelete