2/15/12 (Wednesday):  Happy birthday to me!  New Zealand is a wonderful present to myself.  We're having an incredible time.  I hardly know where to begin.  I guess we left off in Geraldine on Feb 12, where we were headed for Mt. Cook.  Here's a map of our journey from Picton to Cheviot (first night) to Geraldine (second night) to Lake Tekapo.

 We quickly got into a rhythm of waking, having a quick breakfast, unplugging and hitting the road by about 8 AM.  The camper is totally self contained, so we'd enjoy driving for a couple of hours and then pulling over somewhere beautiful and having a leisurely lunch.  Some days I made sandwiches, or I'd even cook hamburgers.  We bought food locally.  Meals taste great when you're surrounded by mountains, rushing rivers, glaciers and lakes!

 Our first stop on the second day out was Lake Tekapo.  This is a deep lake fed by glacial waters, so it's very cold.  The color is an indescribable blue.  It's surrounded by very high mountains, whose peaks are hidden in the clouds.  The Church of the Good Shepherd was founded in 1935 by residents of the Mackenzie District, who had previously held services at local stations (ranches).  They donated land and materials and built this lovely small church overlooking Lake Tekapo.  The view of Mt. Cook through the window over the simple alter is breathtaking.  They were about to start services when we arrived (that's the minister in the doorway).  There are about 12 pews inside and a simple table for an altar.  It's quite lovely.

 Nearby is this statue of a sheep dog commemorating the invaluable contribution of their work.  Sheepherding would have been impossible without the assistance of these hard working animals.

 The shores of the lake were rocky and arid looking with patches of gorgeous wildflowers.  We were surprised that there were still some lupine in bloom -- one of our favorite flowers.

Next we drove to Lake Pukaki (see map).  Again, the waters were incredible clear and blue.  There were even more rocks and less vegetation here, but there was a great view of Mount Cook in the far distance.

The camera was zoomed all the way out here, but that really is what the colors looked like (totally undoctored)!  While I was admiring the view, I noticed a young man (25 ish) who was repairing his bike tire.  He was loaded with camping gear and looking tired and frustrated.  I started a conversation, and found that he was a primary school teacher from Holland.  He had a screw completely through his tire and was unable to repair it.  We offered him a ride to the nearest town (Twizel) about 8 miles away and he gratefully accepted.  Turned out there were no bike shops in Twizel, so we invited him to join us the rest of the way to Wanaka.  We found a bike shop there and I bought some groceries and he stayed in his backpacker tent at our campsite and joined us for dinner.  He was a very engaging young man.  He'd been traveling in Australia for many months and was very thankful for a hot meal and a chance to email his Mum.  He didn't even have a cell phone with him -- just a young guy on an adventure!

From Lake Pukaki we headed southwest toward Wanaka, but it's late and Wiley's already asleep, so we'll save the remainder of the trip for another time.  E noho rā.