Salmon surprise

Our final three days in New Zealand passed in a blur. Our only full day at Mt Cook was a dismal affair. It rained most of the day. Garry and I filled our time exploring the Hermitage’s alpine museum and watching astronomy documentaries in the adjacent planetarium.

On our final day in the Alps, we drove out to the Tasman Glacier lookout. The view from an ancient glacial mogul was impressive but sadly our scheduled boat tour among the glaciers icebergs was canceled. However, this wasn't a huge disappointment as much of the view across the lake was shrouded in mist. Surprisingly, as we made our way back along the shores of Lake Pukaki the weather slowly began to lift.

Our road trip to Lake Tekapo was filled with a few unexpected highlights. We took a detour along the lake’s southern shore to view its waters cascading from a hydro control outlet into a man-made canal filled with schools of large, fat salmon. This unexpected pescatarian wonderland had us spellbound and fondly recalling memories of our Alaskan cruise more than a decade ago.

Upon arriving in Tekapo we were equally delighted to discover that our hotel had booked us into a top-floor room. We thoroughly enjoyed our final evening in New Zealand soaking up our unobstructed lake view. We also took time out to soak in the local hot springs before enjoying dinner in the village’s top restaurant. It was the perfect end to a vacation filled with a blog-load of special memories.

Our final day was spent driving back to Christchurch, stopping briefly in town to explore the city’s rapidly rejuvenating CBD. We also found time to check out the rebuilding of its iconic cathedral. A final shout-out to Christchurch Airport. We loved its eclectic array of outdoor entertainment.