We left Mount Cook behind us and forged on to Lake Tekapo, another fabulous turquoise lake surrounded by mountains and lupins. Our campsite overlooked the lake and it was a glorious sunny day with temps at 24C. We got settled then decided to walk the 1 km into town to do some emailing (it's where I posted my last entry) and blogging.
As we walked toward town, who did we see? Herman and Nellie! They were at a dump station, cleaning out their tanks and moving on toward Christchurch where they would fly out today (Dec 1). We certainly did not expect to see them and called out that we were NOT going to say "farewell" again. It was a lovely surprise.
Bob soon got fed up with the internet cafe and walked back to the campground. I continued working away at the blog and suddenly realized that the wind had picked up. By the time I stepped out the door, we once again were experiencing gale force winds. It was all I could do to bend into them and walk without being lifted off my feet. I wasn't dressed for the temperature either which had dropped about 15 C since we had left the camp. Such a shock and the locals tell us, the most unusual weather they've had in 15 years.
Yesterday morning (Nov 30), we awakened to high winds and rain and by the time we finished breakfast and were ready to go, we were experiencing a blizzard. It was unbelievable!! We felt we were back in Ontario (or should I say B.C.?). The campground owner suggested we leave immediately in case the roads were closed so off we went, into the unknown. We drove around 30 km on fairly straight highways (thank God) before the snow turned to rain.....a great relief.
We were heading toward Christchurch in order to catch Hwy 75 down to Akaroa, a sheltered harbour south-east and 88 km from Christchurch. It seemed pretty straight-forward and we were sailing along until, through my excellent navigational skills, I somehow got us off course, and although still on a sealed road....you guessed it....on precarious mountain roads with no guardrails. All roads seem to lead to Akaroa eventually, however we would have preferred to have remained on the major highway. The views (what I could see of them when I managed to pry my eyeballs from the tarmac ahead of us and the HUGE drops beside me) were spectacular. I figure that Edvard Munch must have come up with his painting "The Scream" due to motoring through New Zealand! Holy %!#$ Batman! Along the most treacherous stretches they have cat-eyes on the top of sticks...I suppose so it will be the last thing you see as you plunge to your death.....and several of these sticks were snapped off. So reassuring!!! I wasn't certain if I should be responsible and look down the cliffs for bodies or take care of numero duo....
Nevertheless, we made it back to the highway, just as we were at the outskirts of Akaroa which brought a gut wrenching laugh from both of us, relieved the tension immensely and stopped Bob from throwing me out of the van.
Akaroa is the most beautiful town we have visited. Discovered by Captain Cook (what wasn't in this part of the world?) but settled by the French, it has many original buildings still here. It is a relaxed and trendy town on a beautiful harbour. Our campsite is above the village and the harbour and just a fabulous place to spend a couple of days.
We walked into town yesterday, had a "mocha" and decided to book a reservation at the most popular restaurant in town C'est La Vie, for dinner tonight. We dropped by while it was closed to customers and met the owner/chef who is a delightful French fellow. The outside and inside of the restaurant are autographed by the customers who dine here.....even the ceiling is covered in comments and signatures. Tiny and brightly painted, it is very welcoming. Everyone dines together so there are no "intimate" encounters but lots of fun (so we hear) and opportunities for new friendships. Apparently the food's pretty good as well! Charlie (the owner) asked us what part of the U.S. we were from and when we replied "actually, we are from Canada", he said he had visited Toronto while working at a restaurant in New York and loved our city.
Tomorrow we head for Christchurch where we will depart next Tuesday for Sydney. It will be pretty difficult to say "goodbye" to this magical country and it's people.
More later!
Love to all!
Sharon
1 comment:
As you may or maynot know, lupins are also wild here in Canada, especially in the Maritimes where there are millions.
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