Amazing views

Wednesday 15th April: From Omarama we headed past Twizel and stopped at the bottom of Lake Pukaki. This lake is full of sediment and has the most amazing greeny hue to it when we have seen it in the sunshine, but today was overcast and cold so the colour of the water was a disappointment. But across Lake Pukaki we could see Aoraki/Mount Cook, 55kms away. This is the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere and where Sir Edmund Hillary "trained" for his climb up Mount Everest. Aoraki/Mount Cook is usually shrouded in cloud but when we visited last winter we were able to see the most amazing sunrise shining off the snow on the top before the clouds gathered. Today we could clearly see the whole mountain.
After taking many photos we carried on to Tekapo and set up in the campsite on the shores of Lake Tekapo. After lunch we climbed from the campsite to the top of Mount John which has several telescopes belonging to the Uni of Canterbury plus one that is used for visitors to study the night sky. It is a place with predominantly clear skies and low light pollution and recently "discovered" a new star. From the top of Mount John there is an amazing view of Lakes Tekapo and Alexandrina but there were also thick clouds forming, a sign of a nor'wester brewing.
While cooking tea in the camp kitchen an experienced camping couple arrived whose tent had been ripped to pieces that afternoon as the nor'wester hit Aoraki/Mount Cook and they had driven to Tekapo to stay in a hut on the campsite.
At 6pm the winds started to build and the lake surface became very choppy. The campsite is nestled with a steep hill behind stretching round nearly three sides, thickly forested. The fourth side is the lake.
Lots of photos today as the scenery was spectacular. The first two are of Aoraki/Mount Cook across Lake Pukaki; the next of Lake Tekapo from the campsite; the fourth of the view from the top of Mount John with one of the observatories and the clouds gathering; and finally a tiny hedgehog we found amongst the pine cones. Its colour and texture meant it was well camouflaged - until it moved.