February 23
Alexandra to Lake Tekapo
Rest and recuperation was the order of the day so I had a leisurely breakfast - I felt like eating at last - and packed my belongings. It was extremely upsetting to see that it was cloudy outside with light drizzle falling - perfect walking conditions.
My blisters were very sore and I still felt very lethargic but, in other respects, I felt surprisingly well. Walking was an effort because of the feet but the other joints and muscles were functioning normally. I said my farewells to the motel and handed over a bottle of good wine and a box of chocolates. Their kindness to me cannot be over-estimated.
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After 20 minutes’ drive, I stopped for a rest - I needed it - and took a couple of photos looking back down the lake towards the Clyde Dam. As I had driven out of Alexandra, there had been drizzle on the windscreen and the clouds hung low over the lake.
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I continued slowly up the road, stopping again at Cromwell to photograph what remains of the old town from across the river.
The road eventually leaves the river valley and crawls upwards towards the Lindis Pass. It is a very barren area, although it was much greener than usual. The wet spring and early summer had not spared even the driest of areas.
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In the distance, I could see lots of flashing blue lights, police cars and ambulances. I continued onwards at greatly reduced speed until I stopped close to a fireman.
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The fireman explained that there would be a considerable delay because the rescue helicopter was about to land on the road, which it soon did. It appeared that a cyclist had come down the hill too fast, lost his balance and landed on his head. His helmet had probably saved his life but only just. I chatted to the fireman - a Wellington lad who had moved down to Omarama for work and now loved it there. We were joined by an elderly American doctor, who came to offer his services and stayed to chat when he found that there was a doctor on board the helicopter. He was travelling round the country, complete with a collapsible bike in his car on which he did an hour and a half ride every morning. |
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We had a very pleasant chat until the helicopter took off and the road re-opened.
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The pass is one of the highest on a main road at 965 metres. A plaque records the centenary of the release of the first red deer in Otago in 1871. The Department of Conservation would consider this a subject for mourning rather than celebration!Once over the pass, the road falls rapidly into the Ahuriri Valley. |
I made haste as it was lunch time, ignored Omarama, the gliding capital of New Zealand, and headed straight to Twizel, where I spent a night on my last tour. The thermometer over the public toilets showed that it was 28 so I took my usual photo - also because of the pretty flowers - and had a very nice lunch of hot-smoked salmon on a rosti.
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There is a salmon farm on the way into the town and this was advertising fresh salmon at very low prices but I couldn’t work out what to do with a whole salmon for a week and thus missed out on a great bargain.
Back on the road, I stopped at Lake Pukaki to look at the lake. The lookout was very busy, as usual, but the clouds meant that the colour of the water was much less vivid than usual. It was the dullest that I had ever seen it.
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I completed the final half hour to Tekapo, checked into the motel, which was very smart and with beautiful lake front views, and had a much needed rest. Not feeling able to do much walking, I collected my emails, did some work and started to write down the story of my walk. This took until dinner time, when I staggered to the nearest restaurant, had a good meal and then took a coffee to an outside table, overlooking the lake and the miniature golf course.
The church looked as appealing as ever but there was no way I was fit to walk the 500 metres to it. I spent the remainder of the evening sitting in a chair outside my motel room, writing my diary and looking at the view.
| Next Day |