7^th July 2015

Rise and shine, good morning Lake Tekapo!

So ready to continue the trip.

On the second day, we planned to explore two places: Lake Pukaki and Mt. Cook. The distance between one place and to another is not that far, but we have to spare more times for picture time. A picture is the most important thing while travelling. It is the return ticket to the memory in the past. 

Before we started the day, first, let us find the rest area. We had to take out the dirty water from the toilet and the sink. It is important to do it in the morning, it helps to make the campervan lighter.  How we find the rest area? We used CamperMate app. It is an application that can show us whatever we need from a gas station, a camper site, to a water tap. Finally, we found the closest spot, but it was unfortunate that the water was frozen. The tap didn’t work, and we almost ran out the water supply. It was miserable, but we had to continue the journey. 

Church of the Good Shepherd - Lake Tekapo

In the shores of Lake Tekapo, there is one famous church in New Zealand, Church of the Good Shepherd. I guess, it is the most famous church in the country. It was built in 1935, and it is still running until today. We took a lot of pictures around the lake. It was lucky for us to reach there in the morning, no one there. It felt like we own the lake.

Satisfied with Lake Tekapo, we continued to Lake Pukaki. 

I was worried that the weather will be bad during the trip. It was the peak of winter, and I read from the news a week before, there was snow everywhere on the island. Alhamdulillah, the weather was perfectly fine. As can be seen from the picture, on the way to Lake Pukaki, clear blue sky. No need any filter. I couldn’t stop praise to God because of the beautiful view in front of me.

Oh, by the way, it was so quiet on the street. We went during winter break, though. But we barely saw other cars on the road. Sometimes, I kept check on the GPS, made sure we’re on the right track. It was because it was entirely different from North Island.  

Finally, arrived in the Lake Pukaki. Three alpine lakes are running north-south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin: Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, and Lake Ohau. Lake Pukaki is the largest lake among those three. The water in the lake came from the glaciers on the surrounded mountain. Our next destination, Mt. Cook can be seen from Lake Pukaki.

Note: Lake Pukaki is located on the right side on the highway from Lake Tekapo to Mt. Cook. So it needs an effort to stop by the lookout. Make sure there is no car from another side if we want to turn right to the lookout. 

I took the picture from the campervan before we stopped in the lookout. Hopefully, this photo can help to imagine the way to go to the lookout

Mt. Cook

This is the highest mountain in New Zealand, and only a real professional can climb the mountain. The mountain is located in Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park. It has several walk tracks with a various view to offer and hours to spend.

After calculating and discussing our schedule for the day, we decided to go for Kea Point track: 2-hour return. 

In the end, we spent more than two hours because we’re taking pictures everywhere.

We’re going to spend the night around Lake Pukaki, so we had to go back again over there. Even though we’re already tired walking several kilometres, we still have to cook at night. Some of us cooking and some of us fill the water tank for the van. We learned from the mistake. In the morning, the water is frozen, so we have to fill at night. It was not easy as we imagine. The tap water outside didn’t work. The water already froze inside. So, we had to take the water from the kitchen, put it in the bucket, bring to the van, and fill it using the water hose. It was not easy, but it can be easy with teamwork. The capacity of the tank is around 80L, but the size of the bucket is only 10L. We had to do it for several times until the tank is full. When we’re done, the meal was ready. Time to break the fast.

Finally, we could sleep well on the second day, with the electricity on and no need to worry about water. Good day. 

Will update the rest of the trip soon, so stay tune guys.