We left Christchurch this morning and headed south on Hwy 1 toward Lake Takepo, in the foothills of the Southern Alps. We really are in the foothills, because the land was pretty much rolling hills and farmland all the way from Christchurch.
Lake Takepo (the town) sits on Lake Takepo (the lake...go figure!) and is home of the Mt. St. John Observatory, which is perched up on one of the hills surrounding the lake. And as far as we can tell, that's pretty much the sole reason the town is located here. There are a number of businesses in the town center, restaurants, shops, and the like and the setting is really pretty. Here's a shot of the lake itself with the Southern Alps in the background:
Adjacent to the lake is a small church that was built in 1935. It's really picturesque with the lake in the background:
We saw huge numbers of sheep and dairy cattle on the way down from Christchurch. The area, including the area around Lake Takepo is a big agricultural area. About 100 yards from the church is a statue dedicated to the Collie, "Without which the grazing in the mountain country would not be possible." The statue was erected in 1968 by the local landowners:
And, finally, we witnessed this little scene on the lakefront:
Really nice spot for a wedding.
All around this area we've seen large areas, mostly alongside the road, populated by a flower known as the Mountain Lupine. Pat took this just outside the restaurant where we had dinner:
We going to the Observatory tonight for some star-gazing and then back north to Kaikoura on the coast above Christchurch. Gotta run!
Pat's Paragraph.... Roger wrote the blog while I was in the shower and we were in bed as soon as possible since we didn't get back until after 1:00 am. I wrote about the night at the Observatory on tomorrow's blog. The area here is into Nature. Hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and of course, tourism. There are only 380 people that live in Lake Tekapu and all of them are busy. Driving buses, cooking, serving, cleaning, gift shops, running motels and the list goes on as the huge buses full of tourists roll into town. We were off in a small garden area in a cottage with only 4 other cabins around us. Since this is spring here, the area is full of wild flowers and everything is in bloom. I wish Roger had loaded a picture with all the mountain Lupine in bloom. Everywhere! I took picture after picture of them because each one seemed to be prettier. The colors were amazing. They even use them as dividers between the putt-putt golf holes.
