Monday, 2 August 2010

Monday – Oamaru to Geraldine, via Lake Tekapo

Up and out early this morning, joining highway 83 heading inland back to the Southern Alps, however this time we were going to see the other side of them. 

We stopped to see some Maori rock art on route, but unfortunately the cliff face had subsided and the entire complex was closed.

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We then passed a number of beautiful glacier fed lakes that were part of a network of hydro dam power plants.  We stopped to take a closer look at Waitaki Lake’s dam turbines.

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Elevenses today was at the top of Benmore Dam, NZ’s largest earth dam, what a great view!benmore_dam

When we got to the small town of Omarama we turned onto highway 8, and drove to Lake Pukaki for a lunch stop at the view point.

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On a clear day you can see Mount Cook in the back ground, however unfortunately for us the clouds did not look like they were going to move anytime soon.

Back on the road we stopped in at Lake Tekapo, famous for it’s turquoise lake, snow capped Southern Alps and picturesque Church of the Good Shepherd.

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Constructed in 1935 and dedicated to the early pioneers of this region, it truly was in a stunning location, right on the shores of the lake. 

We also took a look at Tekapo’s other famous dedication, the collie dog statue which is a memorial to the working dogs that assisted in the grazing of the region’s land.

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We jumped in the van and drove further east, stopping for the night at a town called Geraldine…where we found a camp site that wins 10/10 for uniqueness of name!

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After meeting ‘Grumpy’ himself at check in we made ourselves at home in this beautiful and clean park.

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