Tekapo, working and off we go

I’m not exactly sure where we left off, but it rained for 2 days = no work. So, I spent time at the Tekapo Springs by Lake Tekapo. I spent hours there in the warm water with a view of the lake. There was even an adults-only pool, with the best view and the warmest water. After I almost passed out a couple of times, I took a long shower and drove back to Lake Pukaki. After somehow surviving the cold in-between day, I had another workday on Friday. That was the best one yet. Finally some sunshine (still cold though, but bearable). I painted the fence and pulled mushrooms from the garden, except for the red ones with the spots because Ethan said: please don’t touch the ones that look like they came out of a fairy tale. I thought that was very cute. Then I painted this huge bench with seating and a roof, a big piece right by the lake. I also said it had the best view I’ve ever had while working. He said, just wait and see. After lunch, we went to the villa that is on a small hill. Yeah, you can imagine, the views are insane. There was also a bench to paint there. Unfortunately, the villa isn’t there anymore because it burned down in the last wildfire, but they’re rebuilding it. And Ethan wants to put a golf course down there and a yoga studio and sauna, etc. Damn, yeah, he has enough land, haha. Finally, I dusted the cottage, it was so crazy to stand in such a beautiful house, pure luxury really. So then the workday was over. We said our goodbyes and I drove back to the camp for another night. The next day, I actually wanted to go to the Mt. Cook visitor center and hike there, but as it goes with plans, they don’t always go as intended. Well, my best friend here, Chat GPT, strongly advised me against taking the route with summer tires, and there were landslides on the road, etc., and my car was frozen and it was freezing cold. So, reluctantly, I passed on that, but I did see Mt. Cook excellently anyway. So, I went to refuel and headed to Wanaka. The route there was already amazing, first over the Lindis Pass, where I was so scared because there was snow on the mountains. But the road wasn’t icy. The view there was incredible. After passing sheep herds in the valley surrounded by mountains, it started to get warmer. Upon arriving in Wanaka, I wandered through the streets and then took a walk by the lake to The Wanaka Tree, a tree that stands alone in the water. It was cool to see, and in the background, there were snow-capped mountains, the trees losing their leaves, everything is orange. It looks very beautiful, a sweet little town. I then went shopping and drove to my overnight spot for today. Finally had spaghetti with tomato sauce and garlic!!! Wuhuuu. Then I took a little walk here, and tomorrow I’ll go hiking anyway. I’m really looking forward to it.