Sunday 27th February

We woke to find that the cloud was very low over the mountains but before we left Ian managed to take a photo of Aoraki Mount Cook piercing through the cloud.

We had a wander around the complex before leaving to see if we could find any Keas but there weren’t any to see, despite the warning notices in our room and in the public areas of the hotel.

We drove back down the side of Lake Pukaki and as we did so, the sun started to shine.  We had some beautiful views of the mountains.

At the foot of the lake we rejoined SH8 and drove Eastwards through Mackenzie country, which is well known for the breeding of Merino sheep.  It was a vast open plain and the contrast with the Southern Alps was dramatic.

We stopped at Lake Tekapo for coffee and although the guide book wasn’t too complimentary about the town, the area around the lake side was very attractive.

There were a large number of shapes constructed by balancing stones.  We weren’t sure about the significance of these.

Across the river where it exited the lake we could see an old chapel.  We decided to investigate and found that it was a chapel dedicated to The Good Shepherd. It was a beautiful little chapel and behind the altar there were large windows that overlooked the lake and had a beautiful view of the Southern Alps.  To be able to worship there must have been a privilege as you could really give glory to God for the wonderful world that He has created.

On the foreshore there was a young couple who had just got married, they were drinking champagne and celebrating with their friends.

We drove through Fairlie and we were able to get some petrol.

At Cave we had to make a decision about following the main road into Timaru or following the “red” road to St Andrews and then up the coast to Timaru.  No real decision to make as we were being pushed to drive faster than we wanted to on the main road.  We appreciated the route as it took us through some scenic countryside where the ranges of hills were riven by striking gorges, some with limestone cliffs.

In Timaru we called at the i-site to find out where the motel was.  It was very easy to find as it was on the main road to Christchurch.

The couple who run the motel are from Romsey in Hampshire.

Linda did two loads of washing, drying one load in the tumble drier and hanging the other load out in the garden.  We tried to ring the Air NZ desk to confirm our return flights but after a long time on hold failed to reach anyone;  We will try online tomorrow.

We went to a local Café/Bar/Restaurant for our meal which had been recommended by the Motel owners.  It was a very good meal and Ian thoroughly enjoyed his Mud cake served with boysenberries.