New Zealand South Island: Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo

I love looking out into blue water, always have. My favourite views in the world have to be found in Santorini and the Nobbies. 

Naturally, Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo were the highlights of our trip for me. The calm blue waters were spellbinding. We spent some time visiting salmon farms and stopping at various viewpoints to enjoy the scenery.

We watched salmon being fed at the farm. We also enjoyed some mouthwatering grilled salmon wings and salmon chowder.


The reflection on the water was unreal. (*Click to enlarge*)

Something about the turquoise-y blue-green just draws the eye in and I can't stop looking at it. So glad to have found this spot where we could just sit on the stone bench and look out onto all that sereneness.

The water was so calm that we tried skipping some stones. I could have stayed there the whole day!

The view of Mount Cook in the distance. 

Mount Cook in all its glory.

Driving towards Mount Cook was such a treat to the eyes.

One of the best experiences was sitting in front of the lake and enjoying sashimi. They were also running a sale at the time we were there so instead of the usual $10 per 100g it was $10 for 200g. 

We visited the Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo. Just as we were leaving, they closed the grounds for a wedding. Talk about good timing!

(*Click to enlarge*)

All in all, our trip was quite a memorable one barring the soul-deadeningly itchy parting gifts bestowed onto us by the sandflies (They manifest late by the way! Much akin to diarrhoea greeting you the morning after you've had the best curry the night before....) and our harrowing flight back home.

(Our plane couldn't land given the bad thunderstorm in Victoria so we re-routed to Canberra and eventually got home nearly 6 hours later...but not before being held back an additional 20 mins in the runway for quarantine officers to come on board and examine a sick passenger.)