March 23

Cromwell to Lake Tekapo

A disturbed night with my cough troubling me. I hope it goes away soon. I made a bacon roll and ate it whilst watching the chaos outside. The school down the road seemed to be having some sort of cycling event.

The road had sprouted lots of cones, there were children and bikes all over the place, and lots of parents had driven there with bikes nailed to the backs of their cars. They had parked in every available space. I was glad to be going in the opposite direction.

Children & bollards everywhere
Cromwell Bridge	Lake Dunstan

I checked out, collected some petrol and drove over the bridge, stopping on the other side to take photos. I repeated the process a little further up the lake. It may be man made but it is pretty.

The cloud cover was 100% but it was still warm. Tee shirt and shorts were more than adequate. I followed the road to for almost an hour to Tarras and stopped for a coffee. There's nothing more until Omarama. I sat in the garden listening to a mixed group of aging motorcyclists discussing accidents. I think I'm glad I gave up riding a scooter!

I set off gently into the pass and was soon overtaken by the bikes. I caught up with them again when a flock of sheep obstructed our path. This is always an occupational hazard in the South Island.

Gently up the valley	Another sheep jam

Further up the hill we all stopped for quite a while to enable a road crew to dislodge loose debris from the cliff. They had all sorts of plant and equipment and were moving at great speed.

The larger rocks made a satisfying clunk as they fell a couple of hundred feet onto the road beneath. I was glad they were being removed under controlled conditions.

Men were hard at work
Much greener than usual	They were knocking loose rocks off the cliff

The vegetation on the pass is normally burned to an orange brown colour. This time there were strong tinges of green everywhere. It must have been wet recently.

I joined the massed crowds, including the bikers, at the Lindis Pass summit and took lots of photos.

On the other side, the road was reasonably quiet as I descended into the Ahuriri Valley. On the outskirts of Omarama is the Ladybird Hill Vineyard and salmon farm, where I stopped for lunch.

I drove to the latter, found the car park and emerged from my car into a few spots of rain. I drank a good long black at an outside (covered) table. It was becoming increasingly dull, enough to persuade me that a walk round Lake Tekapo might not be a good idea.

The rain had stopped by Twizel, where I paid a visit to see what had changed since I stayed there last year. Not a lot, was the answer.

Lake Ruataniwha looked good	Lake Pukaki was hidden

I continued on my way as far as the Pukaki lookout. I have taken many wonderful photos from here over a period of almost 30 years.

This time the mountains were well hidden. The car park was very busy but the Information Centre was closed. Everyone was in the salmon farm shop. The owners must be happy with the situation.

It became brighter as I approached Tekapo. I discovered that I had booked a room at a huge new development on the "wrong" side of the road. The foyer was smart but the room - a few minutes drive away - was tiny. What's worse, the only facilities were a fridge and a kettle. Breakfast will have to wait until I reach Fairlie. Free wi fi was strictly limited, just like the hotel in Darwin. Last night's motel was a palace by comparison.

Big isn't always beautiful	They are destroying the place
The church is still beautiful ...	... but it is easier to access from the new bridge

In the village there were still huge mounds of rubble on the lake edge. I understand that there will be development eventually, with several new shops planned. I walked down to the lake and sat by the water. The drone from the earth moving equipment behind me removed the solitude so I moved on.

The church was busy. It always is. A new footbridge leading to it was opened last year, which will lead more and more people there.

A quick scan of the cafes revealed that what used to be a nice restaurant has gone down market and seems to offer pub food. The pub couldn't offer me a beer as there was a power cut. I returned to a café bar, ordered a craft beer from Wellington and reserved a table for the evening.

At that stage, there was a power cut there as well, but it only lasted five minutes. I had tried to sit on the lawn outside but there was light rain which wasn't falling at the front. Very strange.

I sat on a comfy seat, wrote my diary and drank my beer and almost enjoyed it. The flavour was good but it was too fizzy.

Back at the hotel I had a long rest whilst listening to the radio news. The main item of local interest, as opposed to terrorism in Europe, was Fonterra's declaration of doubled profits. It is the largest company in the country and its affairs dominate the national economy.

The farmers are its suppliers, so losing heavily because of the  low international milk prices, but also its shareholders, so doing well from the increased profits and higher dividends. None of the discussions revealed how much the average farmer was winning on the swings or losing on the roundabouts because of this. The assumption is that they are losing but I would like to know the facts.

The hotel looked OK ...	... from some angles
There are some very smart houses	My salmon was good

It took seven or eight minutes to walk back to the McKenzie Café. It was only a quarter full but several large tables suggested that they were expecting some large parties.

The prawn salad was good and very healthy. Lots of green stuff. The salmon was beautifully cooked.  The vegetables which accompanied it weren't. Not a bad meal and the wine was OK.

I walked back to the hotel, organised my bags and watched TV.