This morning we got up leisurely, then headed off to Lake Tekapo where we'll spend the next couple of days.
We're heading north temporarily. We had to change our plans (we knew this ahead of time) and backtrack somewhat. We were supposed to go to Lake Tekapo before Dunedin, but we had to switch them because Fleetwood Mac is playing in Dunedin tonight and there were no rooms available when we were booking. I asked if our agent could score us some tickets...but no.
So, what's weird is that when we were heading north in the morning, the sun was shining in our windshield. It dawned on us that that doesn't happen in Canada. Well, at least the sun still rises in the east.
On the way, we stopped at Oamaru. Beautiful little spot with all these well-kept Victorian buildings.
There's this museum there called Steampunk full of contraptions which work by steam. We thought about going in, but we wanted to get to our place, so we didn't. It did look kinda neat. Next time.
We're heading toward the west coast of the South Island now, but these things are in the way! These are part of the Southern Alps.
We arrived in Lake Tekapo around 2:15 pm. Wow - OK - this is the best place we've stayed in so far. We're in a 3-bedroom cottage at the lake. Full kitchen and plenty of space. I could lose Gerard in here.
Looking out the front windows.
We headed into town for a few groceries. We might as well take advantage of the facilities available to us for the next couple of days.
Just about 400 yards down the road from our cottage is an old historic church right on the lake.
This is behind the church along the lakeshore.
Larkspur?
There's even a statue to the border collie dog. They say without these dogs, they couldn't have used the highlands here for the sheep. So they honour the dog.
I was watching bus loads of people come and see this church and dog statue, and hoards of other people too. I thought, man, just tell people something is old or it's historic, and they will even pay admission to see it, no matter what it is. So I told Gerard I was going to put a sign out in front of our house to come see Gerard for $10/person. I'd make a fortune! He could sit out on the back deck (well, if it's nice, I'll let him into the house if it's raining or cold), and people could come through to check him out. Established 1944.
A few other Kiwi notes:
- (Well, maybe this one isn't a Kiwi note specifically.) The GPS we have chimes every time I am 10 km/h over the speed limit. I said to Gerard, "it tells me whenever I'm speeding." He said, "it tells ME whenever you're speeding."
- They don't like it when you use your windshield wiper to signal a left turn. I'm mostly past that now, but I had a quick-decision moment.
- There are more ways to flush a toilet than you can ever imagine.
- They seem to pronounce names and things with stress on the first syllable, where we often stress the 2nd or later syllable. (e.g.) We're at Lake Tee(stress)-ka-po, not Te-ka(stress)-po. And we were at the O(stress)-ta-go Peninsula, rather than the O-ta(stress)-go. I might be generalizing, but I don't think so.
- There are no nickels or pennies here. They round the prices to the closest dime, when using cash.
We're putting a pizza in the giant oven we have, got a bottle of wine open and poured. Going to sit back and relax for the evening. Ciao!
We're heading north temporarily. We had to change our plans (we knew this ahead of time) and backtrack somewhat. We were supposed to go to Lake Tekapo before Dunedin, but we had to switch them because Fleetwood Mac is playing in Dunedin tonight and there were no rooms available when we were booking. I asked if our agent could score us some tickets...but no.
So, what's weird is that when we were heading north in the morning, the sun was shining in our windshield. It dawned on us that that doesn't happen in Canada. Well, at least the sun still rises in the east.
On the way, we stopped at Oamaru. Beautiful little spot with all these well-kept Victorian buildings.
There's this museum there called Steampunk full of contraptions which work by steam. We thought about going in, but we wanted to get to our place, so we didn't. It did look kinda neat. Next time.
We're heading toward the west coast of the South Island now, but these things are in the way! These are part of the Southern Alps.
We arrived in Lake Tekapo around 2:15 pm. Wow - OK - this is the best place we've stayed in so far. We're in a 3-bedroom cottage at the lake. Full kitchen and plenty of space. I could lose Gerard in here.
Looking out the front windows.
We headed into town for a few groceries. We might as well take advantage of the facilities available to us for the next couple of days.
Just about 400 yards down the road from our cottage is an old historic church right on the lake.
This is behind the church along the lakeshore.
Larkspur?
There's even a statue to the border collie dog. They say without these dogs, they couldn't have used the highlands here for the sheep. So they honour the dog.
I was watching bus loads of people come and see this church and dog statue, and hoards of other people too. I thought, man, just tell people something is old or it's historic, and they will even pay admission to see it, no matter what it is. So I told Gerard I was going to put a sign out in front of our house to come see Gerard for $10/person. I'd make a fortune! He could sit out on the back deck (well, if it's nice, I'll let him into the house if it's raining or cold), and people could come through to check him out. Established 1944.
A few other Kiwi notes:
- (Well, maybe this one isn't a Kiwi note specifically.) The GPS we have chimes every time I am 10 km/h over the speed limit. I said to Gerard, "it tells me whenever I'm speeding." He said, "it tells ME whenever you're speeding."
- They don't like it when you use your windshield wiper to signal a left turn. I'm mostly past that now, but I had a quick-decision moment.
- There are more ways to flush a toilet than you can ever imagine.
- They seem to pronounce names and things with stress on the first syllable, where we often stress the 2nd or later syllable. (e.g.) We're at Lake Tee(stress)-ka-po, not Te-ka(stress)-po. And we were at the O(stress)-ta-go Peninsula, rather than the O-ta(stress)-go. I might be generalizing, but I don't think so.
- There are no nickels or pennies here. They round the prices to the closest dime, when using cash.
We're putting a pizza in the giant oven we have, got a bottle of wine open and poured. Going to sit back and relax for the evening. Ciao!
Nice digs. Beautiful view! The sign would have to say "The Great Gerardo" and he should be dressed in Roman garb, I think.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your suggestions. Definite money-maker.
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