5.12.18 Lake Pukaki - Springfield

That was a freezing night, in the morning the thermometer in the car showed 3.5 degrees. That doesn't make getting up easy. But we had a good reason to get up. The plan was to drive from Lake Pukaki to nearby Lake Tekapo after waking up and have breakfast there and then hike up Mount John. A hill with a big star observatory. But when we woke up, Mount Cook unexpectedly appeared in all its glory in the distance, with clear skies. So we quickly changed our minds and made our way to Mount Cook Village on the other side of the lake to have breakfast at a nice viewpoint. We enjoyed it very much. But then we returned to our original plan. The hike up Mount John was very beautiful and varied, despite increasing clouds. We didn't take the direct ascent, but first walked along the lake, with dreamlike lupine fields, and then up along the ridge. At the top there is a highly acclaimed astro cafe and of course we had to test the cappuccino there. Very nice. Since there is also a road up, we were not alone. We timed our break perfectly, during a rain shower. After the descent, it was time to say goodbye to the Mt. Cook region. Our journey continues or returns to the starting point of Christchurch. We want to take advantage of the next few days to explore the Arthur's Pass, one of the three east / west crossings of the island. The pass is near Christchurch. On the way, we took a lunch break in a town and had a typical New Zealand meal, a pie. It was very delicious. We stretched our legs again at a gorge and then we headed to Springfield at the foot of the Arthur's Pass. We chose the campsite because of its location, shower facilities, and good ratings in our app. Well, for the first time the app disappointed us a bit, but we had a shower and a spot. We arrived in sunny weather but dark clouds were moving in. So it started to rain heavily. Our menu plan was steak again, so Patrick grilled in pouring rain. But the steak was worth it. We were concerned about our spot, or more the fact if we would get out safely if it continues to rain. So Patrick moved our house late at night.