When stayed overnight in the Aoraki/Mount Cook village and hoped that visibility of Mount Cook would be better the next morning. Unfortunately we were out of luck - we woke to a very grey and overcast day, with Mount Cook completely covered with mist and fog. Visibility was so bad, that we couldn't even see the base of the magnificent mountain. That said, we were so glad that we saw Mount Cook a few days earlier from the Fox Glacier side, and that we took the helicopter ride over it. Without getting the view of Mount Cook that we had hoped for, we left the village and decided to make a stop at the Tasman Lake. However when we got there it started to rain and we did not have the right clothes to withstand the rain and the twenty minute walk to the lake. With the weather not cooperating, we decided to leave the Canterbury region and head back to Christchurch earlier than planned.
Church of the Good Shephard
The Church of the Good Shephard was built in 1935 as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie County. It is situated on the shores of Lake Tekapo and is one of the most photographed churches in New Zealand. On a clear day it is a picture of perfection, with the church in the foreground and the lake and Mount Cook in the background. Unfortunately when we got to the church, Mount Cook was still not visible.
A little further along the shore we came across the Sheep Dog Statue, which was erected on a large boulder in 1968. It is a monument to all the Collie dogs that worked on the farms in the Mackenzie County.
Akaroa and The Banks Peninsula
On our way back to Christchurch we decided to make a detour and go to Banks Peninsula, situated 83 kilometres south east of Christchurch. Banks Peninsula and the surrounding hills were formed by two giant volcanic eruptions. It was a another weaving road over mountains down to the peninsula, but the views were great (pity we did have clear blue skies). We were especially keen to visit the historic town of Akaroa. "Akaroa" in Maori means "Long Harbour" and is the site of the country's first French settlement. Descendants of the original French settlers still reside here and there is a strong French influence all around the town - French street names, French flags and French eats. After our short visit to Akaora, we headed back to Christchurch along the narrow and winding road up the hillside. As we were on this road (with very steep cliffs on one side) a really thick fog started to roll in from the ocean and visibility was reduced to a few feet (driving became quite difficult, but fortunately for us, there weren't too many other cars on the road). Once we passed the mountainous area and were back inland, the fog lifted and we had a relaxing drive back to Christchurch.
We spent one more night in Christchurch and then returned our rental car at the Christchurch Airport the next day. This concluded our trip to New Zealand. Overall we covered over 1600 kilometres while traveling around the South Island and it was a great experience. From Christchurch we flew to Auckland and then on to Bangkok where we stayed overnight, and then flew back to Singapore the next day.
On our way back to Christchurch we decided to make a detour and go to Banks Peninsula, situated 83 kilometres south east of Christchurch. Banks Peninsula and the surrounding hills were formed by two giant volcanic eruptions. It was a another weaving road over mountains down to the peninsula, but the views were great (pity we did have clear blue skies). We were especially keen to visit the historic town of Akaroa. "Akaroa" in Maori means "Long Harbour" and is the site of the country's first French settlement. Descendants of the original French settlers still reside here and there is a strong French influence all around the town - French street names, French flags and French eats. After our short visit to Akaora, we headed back to Christchurch along the narrow and winding road up the hillside. As we were on this road (with very steep cliffs on one side) a really thick fog started to roll in from the ocean and visibility was reduced to a few feet (driving became quite difficult, but fortunately for us, there weren't too many other cars on the road). Once we passed the mountainous area and were back inland, the fog lifted and we had a relaxing drive back to Christchurch.
We spent one more night in Christchurch and then returned our rental car at the Christchurch Airport the next day. This concluded our trip to New Zealand. Overall we covered over 1600 kilometres while traveling around the South Island and it was a great experience. From Christchurch we flew to Auckland and then on to Bangkok where we stayed overnight, and then flew back to Singapore the next day.
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