We arrived in the afternoon and the first
view of the renowned Lake Tekapo took our breaths away as the turquoise color
promised to us peeked out so slightly to greet us as we climbed over the hill
to enter the town. Magnificent. Just magnificent. I remembered I totally went OMG, OMG, OMG when I saw the view that greeted me.
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| Our first encounter with the Lake |
We headed straight to our hostel to
check in before we make our rounds around town. We were greeted with friendly
faces and helpful suggestions as to where to go to get the best out of the stay
in this town. Naturally, the Astro Café is a big hit, almost everywhere that talks
about Tekapo will point you in that direction. And so, we headed there. But the
wind was so strong that the only road leading to the Café was close. We had to
turn back and continue our exploration elsewhere. Delightfully, we found a
hidden gem just along the road to the Astro Café and the views were just
astonishing.
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| Small private road further down the road from Astro Cafe |
After which we went around for a while
before heading back to the hostel to get some rest before our night tour.
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| Church of Good Shepherd |
The night was cold and we had our
dinner before heading out. After the experience this afternoon with the road
closure due to strong winds, we actually didn’t keep our hopes high. We reached
the Earth and Sky office just down the road and the reception told us to wait a
bit before they confirm the weather and register us, so we stuck around.
Finally, good news was broadcasted
and we queue up to register ourselves and got a jacket each. Mind you, we were
already wearing ultra-thick jackets. But they said that the wind is still crazy
up the mountain, so it’s best we don their “arctic jackets”.
The drive was an adventure by
itself. As to minimize the light pollution to the observatory, they would
switch off their headlights while navigating through the winding mountain
roads. I really have to salute the experienced driver for his balls and skills.
Driving mountain range at night is one thing, but driving mountain range with
headlights off is just insane. But he was quite right to say that once our eyes
get used to the darkness, the moonlight is actually pretty bright.
And so we finally arrived at the
observatory after the thrilling ride to face our old enemy – Cold. The wind is
really gushing strong and the path was dark, really dark. They did give us a
small red light torch just in case we need some lighting up of the paths. Red
lights are less polluting than white or yellow lights.
There we learn about the stars we
could see in the south. And the most amazing thing happened. We saw the
southern lights. THE AURORA AUSTRALIS.
Yes. The legendary aurora australis. The dancing lights lit up the sky and it
was the most beautiful thing we saw.
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| Aurora Australis |
Tips: don’t have to bring a tripod to the tour as the staffs are more
than glad to help you take some amazing long exposure shots of the night sky.
We finally went back down cold and
tired but feeling amazing af.
The next morning we headed over to
the mountain range that leads to the Astro Café again and it’s open! We went
ahead to have our breakfast and morning coffee up in the hills enjoying the
cold breeze and amazing views before heading down to the Church of Good
Shepherd again. It’s just too beautiful.
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| This is the first thing that greets you as you arrive at the peak |
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| Walk along this road to find treasure |
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| Astro Cafe |
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| View that Astro Cafe overlooks |
After that we went to a recommended Japanese restaurant to fill our tummy before we move on. And there we ended our happenings in
Tekapo and continued our adventure.
