Apr 11th: Heavy Rain on Mount Cook

Day 8 (Day 4 in New Zealand)

The forecast for the day was heavy rain so we were pleasantly surprised when we drove away from the hotel as it was (almost) dry. Dry enough to get some more great shots of the brightly coloured Lake Tekapo as we waved it goodbye.


Our journey started well with fantastic views of mountains and lakes, especially along the shores of Lake Pukaki. Then the rain started. 

Our plan was to drive as far as we could along the road to Mount Cook (highest peak in New Zealand at over 12,000 feet) and have lunch and a stroll at the Hermitage Hotel. As we got closer the rain became torrential. By the time we arrived we didn’t even get out of the car or take any photos.

Instead we drove back down and stopped at a little cafe next to the Glentanner aerodrome for lunch. We had a nice chat with a Canadian waiter who was backpacking his way around New Zealand.

The toilets here have some very bizarre instructions for using them. This is one of the less unsavoury ones.

From there it was a longish drive to Queenstown, or rather Frankton just outside Queenstown. A brand new Holiday Inn where we were given a small suite with 2 rooms and a bed that must have bern close to 8 foot wide!

Big day tomorrow and our biorhythms are just about returning to normal.

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