Sunrises, Stars, & Stunning Blue Water: New Zealand’s Lake Tekapo

For such a small country, New Zealand can lay claim to several of the world’s most iconic views.  And one of the best-known that comes to mind is Lake Tekapo’s stunning turquoise water, framed by a small chapel, clear mountains in the background, and (when the season cooperates) vibrant purple lupins.

I mean, STAHP.  That is just insanely pretty.

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We spent the first couple days of our two-week Kiwi whirlwind in the Lake Tekapo area, taking a million pics of the lake (and nearby Lake Pukaki, also gorgeous), and then taking a boat trip on glacier Lake Tasman and hiking the beautiful Hooker Valley Trail near Mt. Cook/Aoraki.

While we were tired, honestly the super long flight wasn’t a big deal.  I flew to Chicago the night before to meet Enoc and Sarai, then we flew to San Francisco and met up with Brek, then flew another 13 hours to Auckland and a quick puddle jumper to Christchurch.

But the fact is that 13 hours on a plane doesn’t feel much different than 9, other than that you have a better shot at grabbing some decent sleep.  And Air New Zealand is quite comfortable.

These are people loopy from 17 hours of flights and three hours in the car…

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We got the rental car in Christchurch and hit the (left side of the) road, with me in the driver’s seat, and grabbed a quick bite to eat.  It was my first time driving on the left and it came surprisingly naturally to me.

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As we started to get near the Lake Tekapo/Mt. Cook area, we were obsessed with the scenery.  We pulled over a number of times to grab photos…it’s hard to believe that this is just the view out the window when you’re driving!

Finally we arrived at our first bach (“batch”, a Kiwi term for little rental), Sawdon Station.  It is the CUTEST.  While not the most modern or glamorous, it had a coffee maker, wine opener, fireplace, and some sweet 70’s decor.  Basically it was perfect and cozy for our first few days in the Southern Hemisphere!

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It also had these black velvet skies with diamond stars.  One of the things that drew me to the Lake Tekapo area is that it’s a UNESCO Dark Sky Reserve, aka no light pollution.  So stargazing is serious business, and we did our part.

We realized how clear of a night it was on our first night there and quickly threw blankets over our shoulders to run outside and take pictures of the stars.

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What we *didn’t* realize was that the sliding glass door automatically locked on the outside, so we’d accidentally locked ourselves out of the house in the middle of nowhere in freezing weather.

Thankfully, we realized that the tiny bathroom window (seriously one of those little rectangular ones) was unlocked and that Enoc was tiny enough to fit through it, so we boosted him up and through.  Thank goodness because there was NO WAY that any of the rest of us could.  So we didn’t freeze to death outside on our first night in New Zealand…

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And then there was the famous Lake Tekapo itself.

I took so many pics of those mountains…the clarity of all the valleys, the snow and stone, the way the clouds cast a shadow—it was amazing!

The Church of the Good Shepherd is an iconic building in New Zealand.  It’s not crazy old—built in 1935, the first church in the Mackenzie Basin (but there are older ones in the general area).  I think it’s more famous for its beautiful view than anything else.

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The famous bronze sheepdog goes part and parcel with the chapel, a testament to the role of the sheepdog in the lives of New Zealand settlers.  He’s totally adorable, and so tall and proud.

But the real star is the lake itself.  The intense aquamarine or turquoise color (a milky/solid color, not clear like in the Caribbean) is from glacier minerals suspended in the water.

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We couldn’t have asked for a prettier afternoon to spend by the lake.  I was bummed that we were a little too early for the lupins to be blooming and the lake to be completely full, but it was stunning nonetheless.

Our first morning at our adorable little cabin, I got up early (thank you, 17-hour time difference) and saw how the pink sunrise hit the snow-capped mountains.

Once I showed this to the others, we decided we had to get up for sunrise the next morning.  So we were up in the dark, crawled into the car in our pj’s, and chased the sunrise.

Quiet, cold New Zealand morning.  Not another soul in sight.  Absolute perfection.

On our last day in the area, before heading back to Christchurch to catch a flight, we grabbed lunch and some views at Mt. John Observatory.  It was insanely windy at the top, but as you can see, the clear mountain view is worth it.

We had a lovely coffee and sandwich at the Astro Cafe, which is cute and eccentric.  We kept having to come in out of the wind from taking pictures, because the wind was basically attacking us.

We didn’t have nearly enough time in the Lake Tekapo area, but absolutely loved the couple days we did have.  I’d come back in a heartbeat, and maybe do the official stargazing tour at Mt. John Observatory (and make sure to plan around seeing the lupins!).

You could easily spend a week in just this area, there’s so much to do—but you could say that of most areas in New Zealand 🙂

Have you seen the lupins at Lake Tekapo? If so I’m insanely jealous.  What is your New Zealand must-see??

Other beautiful bodies of water you’ll love:

• Paragliding Over Oludeniz’s Famous Blue Lagoon
• Floating on a Glacier Lake: Lake Tasman Boat Tour
• Why Iceland’s Kerið Crater Should Be On Your Itinerary
• A Tranquil Day at Lake Bled
• Fairytale Waterfalls In Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park

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