NZ Day 8: Last Full Day

While we fully enjoyed our last day in New Zealand, there was a bit of sadness knowing that the next day we would be returning to Sydney. Being depressed about going to Sydney, Australia, should give you some idea of how great New Zealand is. We left our Queenstown B&B in the morning, skirted Lake Wakatipu and continued north past a few submerged towns, such as Cromwell, The Land of Giant Fruit. There's a story here: After realising that putting a lake on top of your town isn't the best thing for tourism, the town leaders - still soaking wet I assume - contracted a farmer to grow enormous stone fruit to attract international visitors. Unfortunately the farm was quickly overrun with monstrous fruit flies and the farmer was killed after giant bat poo fell on him one night. They managed to save some of the fruit and have enameled, as seen above.

It was back to square one for the good ole Cromwellites. "By jove," the town crier cried, "I've got it! We shall create a parking lot and next to it we shall lovingly reconstruct that which was flooded in the early 90's, demolished in the 80's and established in 1862! Complete with a plastic horse!" And so New Cromwell was founded.

Tekapo, located on Lake Tekapo, was our stop that night, but we decided to take a detour to see Aoraki/Mount Cook, NZ's highest mountain. To took the detour but didn't see the mountain. The clouds were too low. It was still a beautiful drive, and Lake Pukaki was gorgeous. The sky above it shimmered teal from the colour of the lake below it. The mountains around Mt Cook were also stunning. You may not know it, but you've probably seen Mt Cook. It was featured in Lord of the Rings and The Last Samurai as a stand-in for Mt Fuji. It's also a big climbing spot, despite the tremendous number of deaths. Over 200 people have died on it in the past 100 years. Two died last week. We were there in the middle of summer and the avalanche warning was high.

Back around Lake Pukaki and along Lake Tekapo we went. The other side of Lake Tekapo is lined with the snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps. Add in an old stone church and a statue of a dog and you have one of the most picturesque towns in the South Island. The Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1935, holds services for three denominations. Catholic mass is held once a month. I assume there is one priest for the entire county who racks up some serious mileage. The statue nearby is dedicated not to one collie dog who saved a boy from drowning, but to all collie dogs who have ever saved a boy from drowning.

Driving into Tekapo provided us with some amusement. There isn't really a town but a large rest stop right off the highway. Imagine our surprise when the sushi restaurant we ate at was quite good despite its position between a gas station and a gift shop. Besides the view, the town has some good restaurants and B&Bs. Our B&B, Grandview, was an excellent choice. What a view from our window! We left New Zealand extremely happy with all of our accommodation choices. What a trip.

View all of the photos from day 8 here.