Tag: lake_tekapo

Day 2: Stuck

7:30am – The gusts have set in.

I don’t very much feel like riding Ruby through these monster gusts.

Checkout is at 10am, so I’m going to freshen up, grab a bite to eat, then decide on my next move.

I hear Our Dog Friday (the bar downstairs) makes a decent coffee 👌😉

In the beginning, there was coffee…

8:30am – The bean juice kicked in and the brain turned over with a decision.

My choices for handling this situation were many, but I opted for the easiest – stay in Tekapo for another day. When I checked the YHA website, there was another room spare, so I jumped on it.

I actually have several days up my sleeve for these very occurrences, so I cashed in my first straight up.

I wonder what there is to do around here?

In case it wasn’t clear from the earlier clip – it’s windy.
Scut with the Wind

10am – Completely checked out.

I feel naked! I’m temporarily homeless.

I jammed most of my belongings into Ruby’s panniers and top box. I’ve decided to keep my backpack on me, along with the drone and camera.

11am – A new adventure begins!

I went to the local Four Square for some sun cream, because I got a little baked on my trip yesterday.

Whilst I was paying, I decided to ask the person behind the counter if there were any decent walks around the place. He excused himself and grabbed a map. He then marked where we were with an X and highlighted a few options for me:

  • The chapel nearby.
  • Mt James.
  • A longish inland loop.

Knowing that there is an observatory at the top, I decided on Mt James.

Day 2, Accomplished: South Pacific Motorcycle Tours base to Lake Tekapo – 261kms

I stopped at a lookout just near the Farm Barn cafe on the way to Lake Tekapo, because it looked like this:

Just… hnnngh!

I arrived in Tekapo around 16:30. I checked in, opened the curtains and was shocked to discover a distinct lack of Jucy vans or other cars in view. Instead, I saw some blue stuff, some green stuff and some white stuff.

Put it all together and it looks a lot like this:

Yep. That’s quite a view.

Truth be told, the trip here was hairy. The wind is blowing so fiercely that I was on a tilt when riding perpendicular to the gusts.

It’s such beautiful weather that I want to head up to Mt Cook, but I’m going to pass on that, due to the wind. If it’s fine in the morning, I’ll give it a go.

For now, I’m going to grab the panniers off the bike and haul them inside, along with all my camera gear.

I’ve got a stargazing experience booked for around 10pm tonight, so before that goes down, I’ll saunter down to the lakeside for some photos.

I will probably hit Tekapo Ramen 🍜 for dinner 👌 😉

6:30pm – I’m going to get sick of saying ‘beautiful’ all the time.

The lupins by Lake Tekapo


8:45pm

The ramen was okay, but I’ve got a far bigger issue to sort out. This deserves its own post.

9:30pm – Nature turns.

Unfortunately, it seems as though the overcast conditions earlier seen creeping over Lake Tekapo have set in.

Gusts are expected up to 100kph tonight in some mountain areas and along with it, will come rain.

Sadly, this means that tonight’s stargazing experience may be hamstrung, but let’s see what they put on instead…

10pm – Booooo~!

Unfortunately, the Dark Sky experience was cancelled due to the overcast conditions.

I opted for a refund, with the idea of coming back through this way in a few days to experience the two hour long session instead.