In search of Mount Cook

After our walk in the Rakaia Gorge we drove further inland to get a view of Australia's highest mountain - Mount Cook, which is 3754 metres.

Monument in praise of collies at Tekapo

We went first to Lake Tekapo,which was on the way, but quickly decided that this tourist hotspot was not for us. After using the Wi-Fi facility in a café we drove miles up the road to a basic but beautiful camp site on the shore of a small lake - Lake McGregor. The only service available on the site was a long drop toilet (Jen, think Carfury but with only a very deep hole instead of the bucket).

Evening light at Lake McGregor

Being so remote there was no artificial light to pollute the sky at all. Getting up at 4am, after the moon had set, the Milky Way was as dense as a long, white chiffon scarf over our heads, and a planet low in the west so bright that we could not look at it through binoculars.

Next day, Wednesday 12 February, we moved on to Lake Pukaki, and following advice given by some Kiwi campers found a place all of our own at which to camp, right at the water's edge with mountains all round and a view across the water to Mount Cook - which was wreathed in cloud.
For the rest of the day we waited, chilling out and enjoying the effect of the changing light upon the water. In the evening the cloud began to part, giving us a tantalising, almost complete view of the iconic mountain; but we never did see it all.

Light upon the mountains across Lake Pukaki