Today was a driving day of contrasts, from flat plains to alpine mountains. Temperatures ranged from mid-70s to freezing.
Of course we had to stop in Fairlie. Originally it was named Fairlie’s Creek, after Fairlie, Scotland, where some muckety-muck with naming rights had gone on his honeymoon. With a population of 950, it’s considered a rural settlement. I’ve been to Fairlie, Scotland, and my sister was here decades ago. It was fun to take in all the namesake locations: a golf course, petrol station, a very popular bakery, health clinic, etc.
We had meat pies from the bake shop - the best lunch I’ve had here so far. Greg had creamy chicken and I had ultimate steak, a tasty concoction of beef, mushrooms, peppery gravy and a cheese crust.
The startlingly blue waters of Lake Tekapo are about 30 minutes north of Fairlie. The color comes from finely pulverized glacial rock suspended in the water, with shading provided by clouds or sun. A small stone Anglican church sits on the shore. It was constructed in 1935, two years after the vicar of Fairlie (whose territory extended to Mount Cook Village, where we are staying tonight) suggested it was needed to serve the Mackenzie Basin. The Church of the Good Shepherd was built to commemorate early European settlers. It’s one of the most photographed sites in New Zealand.
Lake Tekapo
Church of the Good Shepherd
Lake Pukaki
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. The namesake mountain, the tallest in New Zealand, is in the V above.
After dinner at the Old Mountaineers Cafe, we impulse-decided to take the Kea Point trail through alpine meadows to a viewpoint.
We were not excellent signpost readers and ended up on the most difficult trail. After avalanche warning signs, we clambered (or crawled) up lots of steep wooden steps until we decided this couldn’t possibly be the trail (rated “easy”) we’d intended to take. Greg continued on for another few flights before we turned around and got back to our hotel shortly before dark. At least there were good views.
We were scheduled for a 12:30 AM stargazing experience at the Aorangi Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, but it was too windy to set up the equipment.
Day 2 - The Tasman Glacier is New Zealand’s largest and longest glacier. It starts at nearly 10,000 ft, running 17 miles (and nearly 2,000 feet deep) until it terminates in Tasman Lake. In the winter, the lake freezes over. In summer, it’s punctuated with icebergs that break from the 650 ft high moraine.
We traveled by coach and then walked a mile in to Tasman Lake, where we boarded small MAC boats for an hour on the lake. The UFO cloud formations were amazing.
The grey mass at the water’s edge on the right side is the debris-covered Tasman Glacier terminal moraine, looming 650 ft above the water. The winds blow loose rock onto the surface. The glacier has retreated 5 miles in the last 35 years.
The blue facing is where glaciers have recently calved.
According to staff here, Mount Cook sitings can be as elusive as Denali. It’s Maori name, Aoraki, aptly means “cloud piercer” We had clear views most of the day.
The Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center is located here, with memorabilia from the Kiwi climber and several films about the park, Hillary, alpine rescues, etc. He learned to rock climb here and summited several of the peaks, including Mount Cook, gaining experience for his 1953 summit of Everest.
Gorgeous!
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