Friday/Saturday 21/22

Our Air New Zealand flight from Tahiti Papeete took off pretty much on time at 02:00 Friday morning and we had a pleasant flight to Auckland crossing the International Date Line which meant that a 5 hour flight arrived in Auckland at 07:00 on Saturday 22nd! All very confusing. We changed planes in Auckland and flew straight down south to Christchurch and picked up our campervan at Maui rentals. We were then on our way to Lake Tekapo and initally the weather was cloudy and cool but after stopping for provisions in Ashburton we headed south west towards Geraldine and Fairlie. After Geraldine we started climbing into the Southern Alps area and the weather improved minute by minute. The scenery was glorious and as we approached Tekapo the sun was fully out and we experience the famed Tekapo lupins at their very best. They were just everywhere in every colour imaginable.

As we crested a hill we had the most stupendous view of Lake Tekapo and the snow clad mountains in the distance. It's impossible to describe properly and the photos don,t do it full justice but the colour of the lake was an extraordinary turquoise blue and the air was incredibly clear. Simply stunning.

Our camp site was right on the edge of the lake and we enjoyed a stroll around the lake before having an early night.