Inland to Mackenize Country

 One region of the New Zealand I haven't explored yet was Mackenzie Country, in pretty much the center of the South Island.

 (thanks newzealand-indepth.co.uk for the map!)

This area was inhabited by Maori only for quite some time.  The first European to end up here was a Scotsman named James McKenzie.  He was famous for stealing 1,000 sheep and bringing them to this area to hide.  

(My question is, How on earth do you "steal" 1,000 sheep??)

Anyhoo, it was an easy trip inland from Oamaru.   There were plenty of places to stop and things to see to fill up a weekend... including visiting New Zealand's tallest mountain, Mount Cook!

(pardon the long story below but please read on, it's worth it)

I wanted to start the roadtrip Friday evening, to allow for less driving and more exploring on the rest of the weekend.   I left work Friday afternoon, stopped at home, picked up my already packed bag, and off I was.   Stopped at Subway to try their new Chicken Parmigiana sub to eat on the go.    Stopped at the the gas station to fill up Smokey and check her oil.   Went to get back into the car and...oh crap!  Locked the keys inside her.  D'OH! Wait, I have a spare!  Too bad the spare key was in my purse, INSIDE the car.  GRRR!   So much for making an early start.   I still had my wallet fortunately, so I asked the gas station worker if I could use their phone.  Called AAA (it's just called AA here in NZ), they said they'd be here within the hour.  Bought a drink and began to wait (sadly my sub was inside the the car, boo).

About 10 minutes later, a police car pulls up to the pump next to mine.  Two officers get out to fill up their patrol car.   I stepped up next to them, smiling cutely of course, and said "Excuse me, might you know anything about getting cars unlocked?"  They took a look at Smokey's doors, and then asked the gas station employee for some of that hard plastic strip stuff they bind up newspapers with.  Next thing you know, there's two police officers (in uniform), huddled over Smokey's door, one prying the door slightly open with a Leatherman in one hand and a needlenose pliers in the other, while the other officer is trying to slip a loop of the plastic stuff in through the pried open crack to grab onto and pop up the lock on the inside!    All at the pump at the gas station on the main highway in the middle of town!   What a sight, I couldn't help but giggle on the inside.  After about five minutes, one policeman said to the other, "well, the cops would've been here by now, ha!".  After about ten minutes, I kindly say to them, "I do have a call out to the AA and they'll be here within the hour, so if you have more important things to do..."  One quickly replied, "No way!   This is a challenge, we're not stopping!"    And a few minutes later, they got it!  They unlocked Smokey with two sets of pliers and a piece of plastic. :)

I thanked them profusely, and gave them each a hug (I've never hugged someone in a bulletproof vest before!)

So, needless to stay, it was a interesting start to the trip and I hadn't even left town yet!

Ok, onto the trip!

I drove inland to a town called Omarama.   (The cops giggled when I said I was going to "oh-ma-RAM-a".  they replied, you mean "oh-MARE-a-ma"?)   Silly foreigner I am, stressing the wrong syllables.  It means "place of light" in Maori.   I stayed at Buscot Station, a highly recommended backpackers on an actual merino sheep and cattle station.

The backpackers was pretty much just a big house (it's in the bottom middle of the picture, just to highlight how tall the hills of the farm were).  Tony, the owner of the backpackers actually used to run the farm--- now his son does.  They have 6000 merino sheep and 3000 dairy cattle.  That's a lot of animals!

There was only one other person staying the night, so the owner and I chatted a lot about the history of farming in New Zealand and some sheep health related issues (if you're bored and have a strong stomach, google "mulesing" and "fly strike").  I learned so much from him!

I didn't get to see the cows, but I saw several of the sheep in the fields.  I did get a personal introduction to Tony's pet sheep, though, which Tony hand feeds 2 slices of bread each morning and bottle feeds it water!

After saying goodbye to Tony (and his pet) on Saturday morning, it was time to explore.  First stop were the Clay Cliffs, quite an impressive rock formation in Omarama.

They are made of layers of gravel and silt, deposited by rivers flowing from glaciers existing 1-2 million years ago.

Next stop was Lake Ohau, one of the three glacial lakes in the region.  There was a lodge here that I had a hot chocolate at, sat on the deck and soaked up this gorgeous view.  Stunning day!

Next up was High Country Salmon Farm, where you can see and feed the salmon!

They're in divided sections and they just keep swimming round and round in circles.   When you toss them food pellets, dozens of them jump out of the water to grab it!   Strong fish!

Tony recommended I try some of their sashimi for lunch.   It was scrumptious!  So fresh. 

Next stop was the 50 km road to Mount Cook.  I thought it'd might be a boring drive, but luckily I had this beautiful lake next to me the entire drive--- Lake Pukaki, the 2nd and largest of the three glacial lakes.

And there she is!   Mount Cook!  3754 meters!  (12316 feet) 

I asked Tony for a good 2-3 hr walk to do in the area, as I sure as hell wasn't ready for an ice climbing alpine tramp on my own.   He recommended walking the Hooker Valley track, which ends at Hooker Lake and Hooker Glacier.

Here's a map of the area--- there's actual several glaciers to be seen, melting into lakes and rivers.

A view of Mueller Lake behind me...

Swingbridges are always fun! This track had two.

The view of Hooker Lake and Hooker Glacier. 

Couldn't have asked for a clearer day!    Another walker informed me that the day prior's weather was absolutely horrible, raining cats and dogs.  Thank you, Mother Nature, for cooperating with my travel plans!

It looks all dirty, but here is the edge of the Hooker Glacier.

Check out the bits of glacier that were floating in the lake!

After that walk, I drove around to see Tasman Glacier Lake.   It was getting dark, but it was still beautiful to see.

Mount Wakefield, lying between Tasman and Hooker Glacier/Lakes

After a jam-packed day exploring Mount Cook National Park and Mackenzie Country, I drove on to my 2nd night's stay--- at Lake Tekapo.  This is the third of the big glacier lakes, and a small village is on the edge of the lake.  I was not impressed with my accomodation, my dinner, nor the local pub.  But then again, I didn't visit for those reasons--- I came to see the sights.

Such as this-- the Church of the Good Shepherd.

This lakeside church was built in 1935 as a memorial to the pioneers of MacKenzie country. 

The church has regular services, and  is open to visitors daily from 10am onwards.  I visited around 8am, which meant no tourists were around.  It was so peaceful.

I came back later in the day just to see the inside.    Check out the view behind the altar.

No words can describe the beauty of that photo.

I took a morning walk up Mount John.  There's an observatory at the top which offers stargazing tours.   I'm more of a morning person, and once again, I was the only one at the top at that hour of the morning, so it was pretty special.  

Lake Tekapo from the top of Mount John

Lake Tekapo gets its intense milky-turquoise color from the fine rock-flour (ground by glaciers) which is suspended in the water.

The (rather unimpressive) Lake Tekapo Village

It's autumn here now, so the foliage viewing was great.    Here was some sort of pine tree that was changing color.

I thought all pine trees were "evergreen"??  Guess not.

As I was leaving my backpackers, there was a bit of a traffic jam.

My final stop was the Sheepdog Memorial, which was built to honor all the shepherd's best friends, that made cultivating the MacKenzie Country into farmland a success.

Woof.

A great trip inland to MacKenzie Country, and I promise, I didn't steal any sheep, because frankly, I wouldn't know how.

Til next time!