Saturday Dec 3
After a big supermarket shop (groceries are expensive in NZ!!), we setoff for the 3 hour drive to Lake Tekapo. We arrived just before the rental agent’s office opened at 2pm - but we quickly got our keys and made our way to our holiday villa, about a 5 minute drive (12 minute walk) from the small town center where there is a supermarket, a few restaurants and the usual gift and tour shops.
We had a quick sambo when we arrived at our villa then unpacked and ‘setup’ - always a bit of a chore in a holiday house. The villa is lovely with stunning views over the icy blue lake. We then had a walk around ’town’ checking things out then settled back in for a happy hour - a well deserved glass of French Champagne. It was pasta and salad for dinner - always a good holiday choice.
Sunday Dec 4
It was an amazing day - sunny and warm - 21C - the view from our villa was amazing. We started the day with a lake walk and a drive around the “suburbs” - them back to our villa for a light lunch.
We drove up the observatory mountain to check out the cafe as we planned to have lunch there the following day - however the cafe only serves pre-made sandwiches and cakes so good luck we checked it out in advance. We drove around a bit more then headed home for showers before dinner at Peppers about a 10 minute walk away. The dinner was OK but Peppers seems to need new management and a bit of a facelift - it’s a lovely setting overlooking the lake.
While touring around we saw 100’s if not 1000’s of sheep with young lambs and a large black swan.
Monday Dec 5
It was another stunning sunny and mild day with temps 7-19C. We did a 1+ hour walk in the morning then had lunch at home when the options in town were just too boring. We had a lazy afternoon then went to a night sky “show" at 6:30pm - the surround pictures were excellent but the high-school student providing the commentary was poor - we left at 7:30pm before it even finished - not worth the $40 pp. Then it was back home for a lateish dinner of pasta and salad.
Tuesday Dec 6
Up and and at ‘em at 6:30am - time to pack up and leave to Mt Cook.