On our way to Mount Cook, we stopped off near Lake Tekapo, the site of among other things, a tiny picturesque little church called the Church of the Good Shepherd, which overlooks the lake. A fellow traveler in Chiang Mai told us about it, but if Bev's eagle eyes hadn't picked it out, we would have driven right past it. We walked into the church, sat in the front pew, and looked out through the large picture window that frames a fabulous view of the lake and mountains. It must be quite a divine experience to worship in this church. We walked around and checked out the lake and views before heading back to the van.

On the way to the church, we had passed an area where a few camper vans had pulled over onto some hills overlooking the lake. Since it was getting late and the site looked cool, we decided to call it a night there. Bev navigated to a turn-off a few kilometers from the church, and she found us an absolutely gorgeous location. At night, we stood outside and stared up at an unbelievable night sky loaded with constellations and the milky way. Bev thought it looked like a planetarium. While we were staring, shooting stars provided the encore to an excellent show.

The next morning, we took off for Mount Cook. The views on this drive were in every sense of the word awesome. Around each twist and turn of the mountain road, bounded by sheep-filled ranchlands to the right and forested foothills to the left, we saw a more beautiful shot of Mount Cook and the surrounding glaciers. This is the most heavily glaciated area in New Zealand, and it includes more than half of the mountains that are over 3500 meters. The natural beauty of New Zealand is unreal. We'll try not to wax poetic too much (and let our pictures do the talking), but where there are superlatives involved or interesting geology or history to cover, we'll throw it in. Otherwise, suffice it to say that this place is by far the most picturesque we've been to, hands down.

We arrived at the Mount Cook area just after noon, stopped off at the DOC (Department of Conservation) visitors' center, and picked a good hike for the day. We left the DOC, munched on a leftover chili lunch (made originally at the hostel in Christchurch), and took off for a fantastic hike through sub-alpine brush, over glacially fed streams teeming with silted waters, across narrow footbridges, and into the valley deeper and deeper towards the base of the peaks and glaciers. After passing through Hooker Valley, we ended the hike at an avalanche zone we weren't allowed to cross. We stopped at Hooker Lake, which was dotted with chunks of ice that have either cleaved off the glaciers or are part of larger pieces of ice that are the melting remnants of the retreating glacier. We enjoyed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (no better snack on the trail!) at the shores of the lake, and then we turned around for the return trip. It was a super, super hike, and a great way to start off our outdoor adventures in New Zealand.

After the hike, we went to the Hermitage hotel for a drink, enjoyed the fireplace and views, decided the drinks were too expensive, and took off for the local pub. We had a beer and small snack there instead. Afterwards, we left the pub, whipped up dinner, and parked the camper in the pub parking lot for the night.

The next day, we got up slowly, enjoying breakfast with one last view of Mount Cook and the surrounding mountains and glaciers. We were debating getting in another day hike before we left, but we needed to get going to Queenstown. So, we broke the camper down and took off.

If you are wondering how my stick shift driving is going, things aren't too bad. Other than a few stalls, an attempt to accelerate from a stop on a flat in third gear (I love the smell of burning clutch in the morning), and screams from Bev, I'm getting the hang of it. Poor Bev is getting freaked out because I apparently seem to drift towards my left, and with everything else I am concentrating on, I don't seem to notice until things look pretty scary from her side of the car. I can tell when I am getting close to the edge of the mountain when I hear Bev's steady crescendos of "stay in your lane, STAY in your lane, STAY IN YOUR LANE, STAY IN YOUR LANE!!!!!".

More on my stick shift skills in a further installment. For now, we are off to Queenstown.