To Lake Pukaki

After leaving Fiordlands, we made the long drive east and north, making our way through the much drier hills and canyons of Central Otago. We stopped for an hour in the madness of Queenstown, but decided to pass up the more popular activities of skydiving and bungy jumping in favor a bag of fresh cherries and a loaf of good bread from the bakery. We ended up that night in a holiday park in the sort of nondescript town of Cromwell before continuing north toward Lake Pukaki.

We stopped to check out some roadside shrines and found these lovely wild roses

When we arrived at Lake Pukaki, the nice ladies in the visitor center confirmed that there was indeed a free campground just at the edge of the lake, nestled in the thick pines. We decided to celebrate our good luck with a couple of magnum ice cream bars, our favorite treat on a warm afternoon.

The Magnums (peppermint for Sean, vanilla for Lou). Oh yeah, and Mt. Cook in the middle :)

The campground was basic, just a longdrop for a toilet, and no running water. But it was right on the lake, with pine trees for shade. And did I mention the view?

Mt Cook and the peaks of the southern alps as seen from our campsite that evening

At the lake