Wanaka, Tekapo, Christchurch
We spent our last couple of days in New Zealand traveling from Queenstown to Christchurch.
You can read about our Auckland and Queenstown adventures HERE and HERE.
Our original plan was to explore Mt. Cook, but the weather didn’t cooperate. There was a pretty good chance that the road would be closed so we went to plan B.
We drove towards Lake Wanaka to explore that area. We stopped several times along the way absorb the scenery and snap a few pictures.
Once we got to Wanaka we went in search of a trail Michael found for us to hike.
The trail winds around Diamond Lake and offers spectacular views of Lake Wanaka and a skyline filled with mountain peaks.
We found a place to have a picnic before continuing our journey towards Lake Tekapo.
Lake Tekapo is a charming village located at the southern end of the lake of the same name. We rented a small lakefront cottage to spend the evening.
The color of the lake water is mesmerizing.
We ate pizza in front of a huge fire at Pepes Pizza & Pasta Restaurant.
Delicious pizza and a really fun place!
The weather cleared up by the next morning.
We didn’t have a schedule, so when we spotted something interesting we pulled off and explored.
Our day ended in Christchurch where just 4 months earlier the town was hit by a 6.3 earthquake.
They were in the middle of rebuilding but many places in the city were still closed.
We stayed at the Copthorne Hotel Commodore because it was close to the airport.
Our flight to Tahiti was early the next morning:
And we were ready to trade-in our hats, gloves, and boots for bikinis, board shorts, and sandals!
You can read all about our time in Tahiti HERE.