With my phone being the other side of the room due to the power socket locations I woke up before my alarm which in effect meant I could take my fully charged phone to bed as I beat it by in excess of an hour. With the hope of some extra sleep, it was short lived with alarms going off all over the place. It really frustrates me however when people don't turn them off, which was the case for a good five minutes this morning. Due to this I was up earlier than expected so decided to treat myself to a subway breakfast before catching the bus out of Queenstown.
With a 9.15 departure this morning I waited outside in what was a gloomy day with drizzle, boarding the bus bang on time. By the time we left Queenstown our bus was barely half full which was weird. Apparently lots of people didn't turn up! When leaving I thought about how much I am going to miss Queenstown because it just had so much to offer. I could have stayed there at least two weeks, although in terms of my bank balance it was probably best I was leaving an area alive both day and night.
First stop of the day today was Cromwell once again, primarily as a supermarket stop. It feels as if I have passed here many times now, although this was the first time I actually disembarked in the town area. Getting a few supplies from the supermarket, it was nice just to take a leisurely walk round the small town which included this big fruit statue to welcome you to town! I didn't stay out for long though, getting back on the bus as it was freezing and a little drizzly outside.
One of the nice things about my bus today was the familiar faces which I have met at various points along, many of which I lost before doing the deep south because barely no one did that section. I even found out someone was going to Fiji at the same time as me, and after lots of persuasion I think I managed to get her to book on the same tour as me! Due to the awful weather today which was just cloud, our driver just tanked it on to Lake Tekapo, stopping at Lake Pukaki for a photo stop en route. On a clear day you can see Mount Cook overlooking this long skinny lake, but we weren't so lucky today. There was a good information centre however which told us about the salmon fishing in the area as well as showing pictures of what we were meant to see!
In the end we arrived into Lake Tekapo by 2, where upon arrival we had a short guided tour of the town which by my standards would just scrape a village size. With an array of shops and restaurants, it was a pretty tourist based kind of settlement. We then checked into our hostel which was pretty modern. Kiwi experience have only been stopping here since the new year, and after dumping my stuff in what was a pretty compact room I headed out to explore Lake Tekapo despite the weather.
With the hostel being a 10 minute walk from the shops, I just opted for the alternative option of going up the hill with a few others I've been on the bus with on and off since Wellington. Passing the hot pools, the path up Mount John which was a little slippery rose at a gentle pace. Zigzagging through woodland we soon arrived at an open grassy area and after going up these rocks we reached the summit. Despite the surrounding mountains being engulfed in cloud we got a good enough view of Lake Tekapo and the town below as well as the flat lands lacking in vegetation in the other direction.
A short walk across we checked out the observatory which is used for stargazing. The sky is meant to be so good here to see space related things that it has been designated national park in effect to protect it! Even the lights in the town are designed to aim light downwards. It was very interesting and a short while after looking round we headed back down, finding three geocaches in the process. We also got a better view of the hot pools and the ice rink with a tubing area going down. I am tempted to go now.
After returning to the hostel and having an awful shower with either really hot or really cold water, I cracked on with dinner. This evening I had Lamb Rogan Josh which was a very generous portion in the end after I slightly misjudged the quantities! With not much going on other than relaxing in the hostel, the evening was spent watching DVDs by the heater as it was pretty chilly inside. In the end I managed to sit through two films before heading to bed, where eventually I settled down and went to bed. Prior to going to bed I checked the night sky although I was not in luck, getting swiftly back inside as it was freezing outside.
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