14. + 15.10.2019 Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki

When we arrived at Lake Tekapo, we weren't particularly 'flashed'. It seemed like just a lake and the surrounding mountains could only be seen from afar at first.

We first drove into the 'city center', got some information at the info center, and picked up a small flyer with all the hiking trails marked.

There are a few hiking trails in this area, and we did the Mt. John Walkway to the summit and the Peninsula Walk. Both were really nice but it was incredibly windy :-D.

We were very lucky with the weather, it was supposed to rain but we had sunshine all day long.

After the hikes, we wanted to go to the famous Astro Café, where you get cappuccino served with funny star and planet pictures. The café closes at 5:30 pm during the week. We returned from our hike at 5 pm, and since you also have to pay an $8 usage fee for the road up to the café, we decided that it wouldn't be worth it anymore.

Our campsite was about 15 km away and to be honest, it wasn't that great. The second night we stayed at Lake Pukaki, which was much more beautiful :-). Because of the strong wind, we had to cook in the front of the driver's cab, but that worked out.

What else is there to see in this region? From Lake Pukaki, you can see Mt. Cook, and in Lake Tekapo, there are the Tekapo Springs (Hot Pools) and Stargazing Tours (but it was cloudy and not worth it).

There is also a helicopter tour to Tasman Glacier, which we would have loved to do, but the price of $620 was too expensive for us.

We read that you can do a similar tour for less money on the Franz Joseph Glacier, and we would like to do that.

See you soon! :)

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