New Zealand – Day 24 – Friday, March 17th, 2017

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+26, yes 26C but windy, lots of sun and straight roads without changes in elevation (for the most part).

But first, a quick stop for groceries as we did get an email from the motel to bring food as there are no grocery stores in the village. 

Off to Mt. Cook but first a long drive, a really long drive by NZ standards (335kms). The drive from Christchurch, once we got to the #1 south, was flat, straight and a piece of driving heaven. We drove for at least an hour at near 100K per hour with some traffic but little delays. Once off the #1 and on the secondary road, the drive was similar to driving through the prairies. It was a fairly quick drive to Fairlie a small town along the way where we stopped to eat our lunch. As it was St. Patrick’s day, there were obvious displays of Irish colours suggesting that there may be a leprechaun or two about.

The scenery along the way was not expected. It was now similar to the rolling hills to low mountains found in Montana. Low dry straw grass, scrubby short trees and little else to look at until we arrived at Lake Pukaki. This lake is manmade for a hydro-electric dam which holds back billions of litres of turquoise glacial water. Backdropped by Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains it is spectacular.

Our arrival at Mt. Cook village is less than dramatic but the views are spectacular. We lucked out to have such a clear day.  Outside of our room is a million-dollar view with perfect views of Mt. Cook up the valley above Hooker Lake and Hooker Glacier.