It seems that everywhere we have been so far in NZ has been stunning and Lake Tekapo did not disappoint. The blue turquoise glacial lake was incredible. The lake was completely surrounded by mountains; including along one side NZ's impressive Southern Alps. On the lake front was a statue dedicated to all the sheep dogs in NZ, as without them farming sheep would not be possible. It's nice to see that they get some recognition in NZ, awesome dogs. No dogs mean no lamb and that's not good for anyone. A couple of 100 yards from the statue was the Goods Shepherds Church, the most beautiful tiny church we have ever seen, with the alter looking out over the turquoise lake, it was pretty perfect. It was built as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie country. Kate instantly fell in love with it and she hasn't stopped going on about it since, hint, hint! I think she now has her heart set on getting married there one day. That morning the weather wasn't great as it was very windy, so we tripped off to the visitor centre, where we bumped into a couple we got chatting to when we picked up our van in Christchurch, Dennis and Annabelle. The day before they had got married at the same church we had just been too, they were so happy, having breaky with all the family. The family was leaving that day so they invited us to stay the night at their gorgeous rented house overlooking the lake, with a beautiful log fire, balcony and cozy bedrooms, it was amazing. We both got our first decent wash for ages in a gorgeous bath with jets massaging our backs. We did 3 loads of washing and drying, charged everything up and ate lots of food, drank lots of beer and tested there amazing chocolate wedding cake. They were a great couple and we were most grateful.

Before we actually went to their house in the afternoon, we drove to Mt Johns Observatory. Due to Lake Tekapo's high altitude above sea level, this area holds its reputation of having the clearest air in the southern hemisphere. Hence why its home to Mt Johns Observatory. It is here where Canterbury University and Japan are completing ongoing research in astronomy and is where the largest telescope in NZ is based. It is here tourists can star gaze on clear nights, one of the best and clearest places in the world to do it because of its glacial and alpine surroundings. The weather had started to get better but there were still gale force winds and the distant mountains looked cloudy and misty. However there was an amazing rainbow next to observatory so we were pleased we ventured up there. The views of the town and lake were also stunning from here and on a clearer day you can see Mt Cook in the distance. We got talking to the astronomer up there who told us a little about what sort of research they conduct and the constant new planets around the stars that they are finding, really interesting. The best part about mt Johns Observatory was when Kate decided to join me outside for some picture taking with her full Mochachino into the gale force winds, you can imagine what happened next - she was covered from head to toe, hilarious!! Her face was covered and the windswept look at that second in time seemed to be all the rage. Not her brightest idea but very cute, her face was a treat!

Anyway by the afternoon the weather had cleared up a lot. We decided to get a pub lunch and a beer on the lake front, which was great and then we headed to Dennis's and Annabelle for the rest of the evening, a great day considering the changeable weather.