The Beauty of Mount Cook

The trip to Lake Tekapo areas gave us the sceneries of snowy Southern Alps from different angle / distance. At Lake Tekapo Town, the alps being viewed from a distance as it located at another side of Lake Tekapo. When we climbed up to Mount John, we could have the sceneries from top. The next day after Mount John trip, we headed to Mount Cook. The famous spot of Mount Cook is Aoraki Mount Cook Alpine Village. It located base of Mount Cook and surrounded by Southern Alps. This is a spectacular view as the snowy mountain just in front of us.

 

From Lake Tekapo, it took us an hour 15 minutes to reach Aoraki Mount Cook Alpine Village. It has a long distance that the road at the coast of Lake Pukaki. Thus we had a pleasant drive. Blue water, clear sky, the image of snowy alps were clearly reflected on lake.

We skipped the breakfast at Lake Tekapo and drove to The Hermitage Hotel, a highly rated hotel in the village. We had brunch there accompanied with that spectacular views. Really an enjoyable life!

As the village is pretty small, not much of choice, this cafe is one of the places that offer affordable cuisine.

The Sir Edmund Hillary Cafe & Bar @ The Hermitage Hotel

Address:

Private Bag, Aoraki Mount Cook Alpine Village, New Zealand

Open 9.30 am to 5 pm

This hotel also house a purpose-built entertainment and education centre with a planetarium, museum, stargazing deck and Hillary Gallery. This Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre is a tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the earth's highest mountain (8848 meters). Mount Cook at 3754 meters, the highest in New Zealand, it became training ground for his Everest expedition. 

Sir Edmund Hillary earlier day photo is appeared on current New Zealand $5 note.

Sir Edmund Hillary

Our ride in Southern Island.

   

The Beauty of Mount John

Day 2 at Lake Tekapo, recommended by the resort staff, we drove our car and climbed the Mount John. Mount John is located 15 minutes drive from Lake Tekapo town. No resident there, just a cafe and observatory. It was different view there, we could have the scenery from top whereas at Lake Tekapo, the scenery viewed at horizontal level. You can view the nature, vast landscapes, mountain ranges and turquoise water of Lake Tekapo.

The Astro Cafe

There is no plant there, probably because of the high altitude and rocky land. It gave us a different experience there.

 The Lake Tekapo Town

As Lake Tekapo area has the clear sky, at night Mount John is another hotspot for stargazing. This is a guided tour at night to Mount John, where the participant can experience stunning New Zealand southern night sky. Earth & Sky Ltd is the company that operate this guided tour. 

 The Telescope Domes

Go down from Mount John, before head to Lake Tekapo town, there is another road to a small village. Followed the road name Lake Alexandrina S Road, we reached a small village. It mainly serve as a camping and holiday spot. So there are a lot of holiday lodges. Face to the Lake Alexandrina, this is another lovely spot if can find an accommodation here. Out of curiosity, we drove in and had some nice photos.

The Lovely Ducks

 

The Beauty of Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo is located at the heart of New Zealand's South Island. Its town faces north across the very blue coloured lake to the waves of the Southern Alps. Lake Tekapo gets its intense milky-turquoise colour from the fine rock-flour ground by glaciers. The blue colour is created as the fine rock-flour suspended in the water. The blue sky, blue lake with the snowy Southern Alps create a very beautiful scenery. So it makes Lake Tekapo one of the tourist hotspots.

Day 2 in the South Island, after collected car in Christchurch, we drove to Lake Tekapo. It took us 3 hours to be there. Drive to the State Highway, we saw the white top grey bottom snowy alps from tiny slowly become bigger when we approach it nearer. It was an enjoyable driving, wife did not feel sleepy at all as wanted to catch all the sceneries on the journey.

On the road.

Accommodation @Scenic Resort

We stayed at Lake Tekapo Scenic Resort. Got know from the net, the review is good. We chose room studio upstair as would like to get a better view for the scenery. It cost us NZD160 / night. Walked out to the private balcony, Lake Tekapo was in front of us. Really enjoyed here. 

The Lake

The Lake Tekapo Town is pretty small, only a stretch of shops for all necessaries and some residential properties. During our walk, some of the properties were unoccupied, believe they are only used for weekend getaway for rich. 

Sunset 

Well known iconic church at Lake Tekapo Town, the Church of the Good Shepard. It is a good place for photography and at night, here is a hotspot for stargazing. Tekapo is known for it's clear nights and lack of light pollution, thus making it a great stargazing destination.

More practices are needed to get nicer photo of stars. Hee...

Food @Kohan Restaurant

Kohan is well known for its salmon cuisine. The salmon come from nearby salmon farm thus fresh ingredient score the mark. In fact, the freshness of salmon attracted us to pay them visit for twice. We could taste the difference compare to Singapore. Be it in cooked or raw, the salmon is juicy and tender. As the restaurants at Lake Tekapo Town are not many and with its highly rated reviews of Kohan, it is advisable to make reservation prior to visit.

Starter

Pork Katsu

Another attraction of Kohan is the big windows. Diners can have their meals along with nice scenery as like a series of art works on wall.

Teriyaki Salmon

Salmon Bento Set

         

Our dessert - fig and green tea ice cream.