Twizel, Mt. Cook and Tekapo

Sadly, this was going to be our last full day in New Zealand.  Anticipating a heli-hike as our grand conclusion, Bob and I drove to Mt. Cook Village early the morning of Monday, March 27, 2017.  Unfortunately, weather conditions were once again unfavorable and our glacier hike was cancelled.  So we scrambled for another option and booked a boat ride around the Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake where you can get up-close encounters with the floating glaciers.  We boarded the bus which took us to the start of a short hiking trail.  It was about a 30-minute hike to the lake, but when we arrived, we were informed that because of poor visibility the boats would not be safe for tours today.  So we turned around and went back to Mt. Cook Village and received a refund for our tour.  Disappointed, but not discouraged, we meandered through the Mt. Cook museum.

We never did get a clear view of Mt. Cook and the surrounding area, but it seemed to be a nice place to spend a night under better weather conditions.  The silver lining in the clouds was driving past the beautiful Pukaki Lake one last time.

With time on our hands, we decided to drive over to Tekapo Lake.  Tekapo is supposed to be one of the best places in the world for star-gazing,  Of course, with the cloudy skies we had been experiencing, we were glad we had not booked a star-gazing tour.  Instead, we took a few photos of the lake and the famous church which sits on it's bank.  We strolled through a few gift shops and ate some good food.

 This is what the starry night sky is supposed to look like on a clear evening in Tekapo.

This day was not the big bang we had hoped to leave New Zealand with, but we had enjoyed a wonderful vacation and experiences in this beautiful land of the long white (and gray) cloud and had nothing to complain about.  This small country is truly is one of the greatest tourist destinations in the world for a reason!  There is something for everyone to enjoy, and getting around is easy and affordable.  We feel so blessed to have experienced many of it's wonders before leaving Asia!  The next morning we left Twizel early and drove 3.5 hours back to Christchurch.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of the city, which is in itself a tourist destination.  Instead we boarded a plane back to Auckland and caught our flight back to Seoul.  It was fitting that as we awaited our flight home, we were surrounded by birds on the lawn which seemingly wanted to send us into the sky with lofty memories of their beautiful country!

 As they might say in Maori:  He pai te ataahua o Aotearoa!