No rush

We went at a nice leisurely pace for the morning.  Nowhere in particular to be today just a drive and see where the wind blows us.  We wouldn’t be seeing much at the start of the day as it was a cold hazy morning.  Breakfast at the site and a drive to the facilities at the other end of the large campsite.

Views, Views and more Views

As we were less than half a mile from camping near Lake Pukaki, and the haze was lifting, our next 20km were filled with more amazing views of the snow capped mountain ranges.  Can one ever get bored of this scenery?  We doubt it.

Not on your Nelly

On our way to our next destination for the night we came across signs for an observatory and café.  The Mount John Observatory didn’t look too high, but this area is renowned for star gazing due to no light pollution and clear skies.  So we thought we would have a little look to compare it to the one in Tenerife.  After driving a couple of kilometres, about half way there was a kiosk and a sign displaying it was $14 to use the road.  No chance, especially as it was light.

St David’s Flock

St David the patron saint of Wales is also known as the patron saint of shepherd’s.  We were making our way to a possible campsite near the monument of St David so it was inevitable that we would stop on route at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

At the church their was a flock of people but these were not parishioners.  They, like us were tourists taking a look at this tiny church sitting at the edge of a stunning lake which is green in the bay at the front and turquoise further back.  This view is transformed into a masterpiece with the array of mountains in the background, some snow covered, some not. 

Wine to water

Just around the waterfront fifty metres from the church was a couple of secluded empty benches.  No wine in New Zealand except a bottle with Ben over a few nights but plenty of water.  So we sat and had our lunch with magnificent views.  We weren’t the only ones. We were joined by Bugs, this time not the type that bite unless you are a carrot.

Not far from where we we having lunch there were a few people in the green water which was very stoney with large rocks near the shore.  On the otherhand, across Lake Tekapo where the water was a beautiful shade of blue and the map showed beaches  no one was swimming.  We guessed this was because the lake would have been colder as it was glacier water. 

Merry Berry

We had only gone one kilometre along the road to top up our water supplies and surprise surprise there was an ice-cream van in the carpark.  There was also a rubbish station, so we got all our recycling out as well as all the other trash but it soon came back in the Sandd Van as there was a $3 charge so it could wait till the next town.  We got 15L of drinking water, enough to see us through the next few days then parked up for an ice-cream feeling jolly and merry.

There was a young German lady teaching a French couple the ropes.  The poor French lady was struggling with retaining information (I know all about that myself) so we used what little french we had to put her at ease. 

The German apologised and we said everyone had to learn somewhere.  She replied with a great saying ‘A master doesn’t fall from the sky’, meaning everyone needs training.

We wanted to know what Hokey Pokey was (without putting our arms and legs in and out).  Hokey Pokey is fresh honeycomb flavour.   They were also selling their own jars of Manuka honey made on the farm they work at.  We chose this mixed with a mixed berry combo of boysenberry and raspberry – two spoons to share.  It was delicious especially as they blended it and put some fresh honeycomb pieces on top.

Sink or swim

Back on track and a quick drive around the bay to Homestead where we pulled into a carpark with amenities.  The site looked under construction, not with big machinery, but with areas slowly coming together to form a new park.  There was a ‘Disk Golf Course’ probably for Frisbee throwers, a new toilet block, brand new signs, some not uncovered yet and grass seedlings growing in a cordoned off area.

We took the short stroll down to the stone beach and spent over thirty minutes in the crystal clear water.  Within a couple of metres the stones were replaced by a sand like surface underfoot.  This is were the soft ‘schist’ rock is worn away. 

There’s a lark

As well as swimming there was the usual messing around with gambols, handstands and cartwheels, achieved easier in the water than on land.  Tree climbing and baking in the hot sun to dry out on a nicely placed  massive flat rock.  Sarah just needed to have a hand getting on and off.

Quick take cover

We stopped at the next village to offload our rubbish in the large bins provided.  Suddenly we were in the middle of a natural disaster.  With a siren going at an unbelievably loud level we wondered what to do.  The sound was identical to the air raid sirens during the World War II.  With the amount of signs we have seen for Earthquakes, tsunami, landslides, rockslides and avalanches in this area it could be any of the aforementioned. 

The locals weren’t panicking, running to cars or evacuating so I asked one what was going on.  She nonchalantly replied it was a fire alarm.  Oh well better to be safe than sorry.  Sure enough as we were heading out of the town we saw a fire truck.

Be local

Everywhere we have gone we have seen NZ Manuka Honey.  After tasting it in the ice cream it’s really easy to see why it is one of the world’s best honey.  We have also seen a lot of hives on the road.  Like everywhere else it is not cheap.

Al Fresco

We pulled into O’Neils Reserve campsite with plenty of time still to enjoy the early evening sun.

We cooked a lovely mince, bean and lentil Dahl with rice and ate al fresco.

We had just finished cleaning up,  moved into the Sandd Van and the rains soon came.  The usual write blog, cards, chat, cards and a little chocolate leaving just enough for tomorrow’s last night in the van.