Wednesday, February 26
Frankie's new phone has arrived and is waiting for us at home! We have already received an e-sim for it, but we have to look into whether or not she will lose her number if she turns the phone in?
The hotel in Christchurch wasn't our favourite. Forget missing shower doors, this one didn't even have walls! The curtain did not really do the job, which made the bathroom floor constantly wet.
Our drive today was 4 hours, so we had lots of time to stop and see things along the way. We took more like 8 hours!
Of course, our first very important stop was on our way out of Christchurch, at Totally Gluten Free Bakery. Time to stock up!
Today we travelled across the middle of the South Island. About half way, we ran across the town of Geraldine (population 3000). We spent a few hours at the Geraldine Car and Machinery Museum. This place was extensive! It has 7 large buildings, some outdoor sheds, and over 1400 items on display. I did not know that a "veteran car" was what they call a car built before World War I.
Lots of vintage cars, tractors, and even chainsaws! The nice thing was that you could touch everything. Here is a video of Frankie trying out the horn of a 1912 Willys Overland:
We took this pic of a Model A for Dave:
Also a room of ancient chainsaws for Dave:
This is the Timarus First Electric Car. There were only 10 of them ever made (here in NZ), around 1970. It was once called the ugliest car in the world. We've seen uglier. The volunteer told us that they wanted to buy this car at auction, but someone else outbid them at $10,000. Then the other guy turned around and donated it to their museum.
We sat at one of their picnic tables for lunch:
We've been wondering what this flower is that we see everywhere? Apparently it's an African Lily:
Another hour's drive to Lake Tepako. The beautiful turquoise colour of the lake is created by tiny rock particles ("rock flour") reflecting the sunlight. Thanks, Susan, for suggesting this location!
We were keen to see the Sheepdog Memorial. But he doesn't look like Jasper. In the 1800s, Scottish shepherds brought over border collies to help with their herding.
This is the Church of the Good Shepherd. So pretty.
Here is a pedestrian bridge. This guy is NOT on the bridge, but climbing the outside.
We watched some daredevils jumping off the bridge even though the sign clearly said not to:
More driving. We stopped for the view at Lake Pukaki, which was used as Lake Town in Lord of the Rings. It was created by a receding glacier. This lake was even more spectacular than Lake Tepako, especially with Mount Cook in the background:
We drove along the lake for a long time, it is 15 kms long. We kept stopping a checkpoints because the view was so nice. Then Frankie kept taking pictures from the car:
At 4:30 pm we arrived in Aoraki Mt Cook Village, population 250. The local school has an enrollment of 3 students and one teacher. You have to work in the village in order to live here.
Aoraki means "cloud piercer" because of how tall Mt Cook is (12,218 ft, 3724 m), which leaves it permanently covered in snow year-round. Mt Cook is the tallest mountain in NZ. Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Mt Cook in 1948 (he climbed Everest in 1953). The mountain used to stand 3764 m, but an overnight rock avalanche in December 1991 reduced the height and caused a magnitude 3.9 earthquake.
The village is part of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, which is 40% covered by glaciers and has 19 mountain peaks. The national park was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
There is ONE main hotel in Mt Cook called The Hermitage, and that is where all the action happens (tours, restaurants, etc) but it was already booked up by the time we planned this trip a year ago. So we are staying at the Mount Cook Lodge instead. It saved us a few hundred dollars. It's really just a very decent motel. But small. At least the bathroom has an enclosed shower LOL. We have yet to stay in a hotel with enough counter space in the bathroom. Except the internet is a bit spotty and we have to re-register for internet every 24 hours, which is a bit of a pain.
The room has a little balcony. As we were standing out there we heard a loud thunder sound, probably calving from one of the icebergs? Here is the view from our room:
We wanted to have dinner at the Old Mountaineers Cafe, which is the only business in Mt Cook Village to have been opened by Sir Edmund Hillary himself in 2003, just 5 years before his death. But on the website the owner says they are closed until something to do with staff and traffic lights??? Plus they have terrible reviews. The use paper plates?!?! So we shared a gluten free pizza and brownie at the Chamois Bar and Grill at our motel instead. Anton tried ordering a coke for Frankie, but the girl was very confused so he gave up. Maybe he had to say "coca-cola"???
After supper we went for a short hike on the Bowen Bush Walk.
Night 3 of Survivor Australia? They seem to be showing one episode per night. Frankie knows all the players now.
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