Lake Tekapo

On Sunday after our glacier kayak in the morning, we drove to Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo lies in the center of the South Island of New Zealand. This highland lake at 2300 feet is in the heart of the Mackenzie District and surrounded by a vast basin of golden tussock grass and lupine flowers. The name Tekapo derives from Maori words Taka (sleeping mat) and Po (night). Finely ground rock in the glacial melted waters give Lake Tekapo a beautiful turquoise color.

The lupine flowers were everywhere. We couldn't resist posing with them.

Notice how I am with the pink flowers, and Dan was with the blue flowers - I didn't notice that until now.

The lake wasn't so spectacular the day we were there. Maybe because we were pretty tired with the kayaking and driving around everywhere. We stopped for a pie and coffee in town which helped. Pie of course was of the steak and cheese variety - not apple.

We visited the Church of the Good Shepard which is located on Lake Tekapo. The Church of the Good Shepherd was built in 1935 as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie Country. Congregations of the three main faiths worship regularly in the Church, which offers awe inspiring views of the lake and mountains through the altar window. There is also a sheep dog statue nearby for all the sheep dogs that made this country what it is today.

From Lake Tekapo we drove back to Dunedin where it was raining with gale force winds. You can always count on New Zealand for some crazy weather. Overall, it was a very fun Thanksgiving weekend.