Sunday 8 July 2018

On to Fairlie, Hikes and Lake Tekapo


First snowcapped mountain views from the car
 Coming out of Ashburton, following the road through Fairlie (where we stayed), our real goal was Tekapo, which is home to some very highly touted hot springs. While said hot springs were disappointing (commercial, not that hot, crowded and too expensive), as usual it's the things that you don't expect that impress.

Dog Monument
And of course, it won't surprise you to know that I simply loved this statue in Tekapo that was a tribute to collie dogs. Working breeds, of course, having to do with sheep, which are extremely plentiful here in New Zealand. Dogs and sheep. My kind of place. The plaque specifies "collie dogs" without whom the settling of MacKenzie Country (translation: mega sheep country) would not have been possible. Heros, these dogs are. 


Plaque commemorating Collie Dogs
We stayed for two nights in Fairlie, which is about 30 minutes east of Lake Tekapo, and set out for an epic hike the next day. On the recommendation of a friend, we went to the Hooker Valley Track, which is full of rivers, snow capped mountains, swing bridges and waterfalls, and set out.

Mt. Cook is a beautiful mountain, and visible from all compass points throughout the central part of the South Island. John initially thought that it was the mountain in the distance portraying Mount Doom in The Fellowship movies, but turns out he was wrong. Still. It has this huge and imperious presence.  I'll leave you to the images of the day. We ended by going back to the hot springs in Tekapo, soaking, eating and drinking in a bar, and heading home. What a day!
The three beauties
The Two Beauties in Snow Fashion
Swing Bridge, John and Mt. Cook

First Swing Bridge View





















River, Snow, Water, Mountains







Sunset at Fairlie

Moonlight over Fairlie

1 comment:

Mary said...

“Dogs and sheep”...yes, your kind of place indeed! I’m so enjoying these travels with you, my friend.

Almost 2 years later. . .

26 June 2020 We found ourselves in the frenzied housing market of summer 2018 when we returned, so of course, we bought a house. After a...