Day 16
Summary: Drove to Auckland, returned rental car, flew to Christchurch, rented car, drove to Lake Tekapo, stargazed
Friday, January 17th
In the morning, we drove 2.5 hours to Auckland, returned our rental car, and took their shuttle to the airport. At 1:30 pm, we flew to Christchurch, a city on the south island of New Zealand – about an hour flight.
While I got our bags off the carousel, Greg got our rental car keys, and we were done at the same time! Efficiency. We hopped in the Toyota Corolla and drove 3 hours to Lake Tekapo, arriving around 7 pm. The place we rented had amazing views of the lake from the balcony!
While there was still light, we explored the lakefront a bit.
The water in Lake Tekapo is a light glacier blue, basically the color of the Glacier Freeze flavor of Gatorade! The landscape is beautiful with the lake, the surrounding mountains, and flowers.
We ate dinner at a burger place called Our Dog Friday. Friday was a border collie owned by a folk hero named James Mackenzie. Mackenzie was an outlaw from Scotland who stole 1,000 sheep with his dog in this area in 1855. He was caught, but escaped and walked 160 km where he was caught again. He was captured and escaped several times before being pardoned after spending 9 months in prison. The Mackenzie Basin, also called Mackenzie Country, is an area near the center of the south island of New Zealand that is named in his honor because he herded those sheep through a completely uninhabited area, effectively opening it up for settlement. Interesting story!
After dinner, we bundled up and laid outside in the chilly wind and stargazed! The area is a Dark Sky Reserve, so you can see tons of stars. We had fun taking several long exposure photos!
Despite over 6.5 hours of travel, we still had a nice day. It’s easy to have a nice day with amazing views every step of the way!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
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