Colin says:
Got out to stretch our legs a little bit while waiting out the weather. First stop was Lake Tekapu. The lake water has a beautiful turquoise coloring because of glacial sediment giving the water its milky blue color. Our photos don’t quite give the color justice due to the weather but you can see the color more apparent in some of the rivers and streams which are all over southern New Zealand. From Lake Tekapu we headed 3.5 hours south to Queenstown in an attempt to skirt the rain. The drive south was amazing, blue skies and huge terrians.

Alix says:
It rained pretty solid for 36 hours while we camped out at Lake Tekapu. Not just rain either, rain while it’s 8 degrees celsius is no fun (about 42 degrees Fahrenheit)! But we still made out well cooking some super delish meals in the van – a yummy stir-fry one night, pancakes in the morning – watched Fargo on our DVD player and spent the good part of one day at the local hot springs which was super! Rain aside, it was still a nice view to look upon. The lake is a shocking turquoise color and that against the autumn colors made for quite a palette!

When we left for Queenstown it was crazy how the weather changed, basically these storm fronts roll in from the west and get all caught up in the mountains, just hovering there. 15 min away from Lake Tekapu, on the other side of the mountains (the mountains we never fully saw!) it was clear blue skies as we drove through hobbit land! Hopefully it stays all the way to Queenstown…..

Colin says:
Hot Springs…. It’s actually super nice to be in 100 degree water while being pelted with 40 degree water… no really you never get too hot… you know its kinda like that one leg in one leg out mentality for sleeping in beds