That was the colour of the sky on Monday. And the waters we encountered too...coming in the form of lakes, rivers and sea. We probably drove 250 miles from Tekapo pronounced Tikka-poh) under a cerulean sky, to Aoraki National Park at the foot of the snow covered Mount Cook, where we walked up to look at Tasman Lake, dotted with (rather dirty) icebergs.The temperature rose steadily throughout the day from a crisp 15 to a perfect 26, although in the shade the air reflected our altitude and had a glacial edge.
The roads were straight, empty and scenically so beautiful that we ate up the miles without it feeling like a chore. Stopping in Twizel to buy ourselves some lunch in a supermarket, we also found our bargain of the day- a zip bag for $2.50. It can accommodate what ironically call our 'capsule wardrobes'.....it's no fun lugging around suitcases packed with 3 months worth of gear, so we selected clothes and necessities suitable climatically for this part of the journey and packed them into aforesaid bargain. My capsule wardrobe has the extra protection of a plastic shopping bag, emblazoned with 'Be a Tidy Kiwi'.....read this and weep, Mrs Beckham....
We pushed on, driving past lakes -and rivers of various blues from turquoise to reflected blue-greens and through lush planting; blobby, vertical trees, horizontal canopied tree-ferns - until we realized we needed to find a place for the night. There's plenty around but the exchange rate is not on our side - so prices are quite high. At Lake Moeraki we enquired what a room might cost at the Lodge; $798 she said....but that includes dinner (!) We computed that and moved on fast to Lake Paringa where we found a basic motel with kitchen facilities, right on the Lake shore for $95 which was PERFECT.
We even had a pontoon to bob around on as we watched the sun go down and finished up the rest of a bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon blanc. There were no shops in the vicinity by about 30 miles...so we ate from the manager's emergency supplies; instant noodles with tinned salmon and baked beans never tasted so good!
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