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We left Christchurch late morning and set off on the 3hrs drive southwest to Lake Tekapo. We arrived mid-afternoon and were not disappointed by the magnificent views and the turquoise colours of the large lake spread out in front of us. As we had gone south and up into the mountains the air temperature had dropped significantly and the woolly hats came back out.
We found the local i-site to ask about the freedom camping regulations for that area, but were greeted by a very difficult woman who informed us that freedom camping was strictly forbidden and looked at us in disgust for even considering it. As we did not want to pay $40 for the privilege of parking up in a motorhome park we set off on a drive up the side of the lake in search of a suitable place to stay where we would be well hidden and out of the way. We reached a smaller lake half way up the west side of Tekapo and here found a very old, basic and run down camp area. There was a charge of $5 but no one guarding the site, just an honesty box. We decided that our current budget didn't allow us to be very honest. We parked up next to a couple of other caravans, which looked like they had been abandoned there decades ago and despite the creepiness of the place we decided to stay the night.
The next day we woke up to a clear, crisp morning and the campground no longer looked so scary with a small stream running past the camper, glistening in the sun and pairs of ducks waddling around side by side. We got ready and drove back into the tiny village at the south side of Tekapo. We parked up, wrapped up warm and set off on a 3 hour walk up Mt John at the side of Tekapo. The weather did not stay sunny for long and we found ourselves climbing up steep hillsides with the rain blowing harshly into our faces. At the end of each section we were sure that we must have reached the top but each time found another hill to climb. Eventually we made it to the summit and were just in time to see a spectacular rainbow span the sky over Tekapo…amazing! After taking in the view we began the shorter decent back down the opposite side of the mountain, through a pine forest and coming out at the Tekapo hot springs. We had already found cheap tickets online for the hot springs and wasted no time in grabbing our swimwear and plunging into the hot pools, best way to recover after our long walk. On the way out the lady at the desk told us we could go back in the morning for only $5. We paid immediately and planned a soak for the next day before moving onto Mt Cook.
We returned to our creepy campervan site that night and had another night huddled under the duvet with our saviour….the hot water bottle and then got up the next day and headed straight back to the hot springs. We had a good 2 hour soak, enjoyed the use of the showers and I took advantage of the hair dryers. We then packed up, went for lunch at a little café and then continued our drive on to Mt Cook. After an hours drive we came to the base of Lake Pukaki, where there was meant to be good views of Mt Cook in the distance. However, due to the low cloud we could barely see the other side of the lake let alone the mountain. Despite the crap visibility we continued on driving up the west side of Pukaki and towards the base of the mountain. When we finally reached the end of the road the mountain was still hidden and it felt like Mount Fuji all over again. We decided to call it a day and found a quiet layby to park in for the night.
The next morning we had planned an early start, A) to make sure we were gone from the layby before anyone had chance to tell us we shouldn't be there and B) to try and get a glimpse of the mountain in the early morning sun. We peered out of the windows and were surprised to find that the rain and grey clouds had cleared and we had perfect views of Mount Cook. We were ready by 7.45am and set off on a walk to the base of the mountain. The mountains snowy peak glistened in the sun high up above us and it stood out perfectly against the bright blue sky behind. We got some amazing photos and had just started on our way back when the clouds began to creep in….we had got a perfect window of sun. By the time we got back to the camper the mountain had completely disappeared again and so we continued on our way heading through Twizel and Oamarama before reaching our next stop, Oamaru, just before dusk.
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