On the way to Lake Tekapo we tried to visit some Maori rock art on private land in Cave but sadly the farmer wasn't in so we couldn't get permission. Although we didn't get to see the rock art we were still pleased that with the van we had the opportunity as none of the tourist buses stop there. We arrived in Lake Tekapo and went for a walk around the lake. Sadly the photos don't show the true colour of the water (type it in google and you shall see the turquoise blue lake which is a result of 'rock flour'. Beside the lake was a bronze statue of a collie dog which was a memorial to all the working collie dogs used on the farms in the McKenzie County. Further along was the Church of the Good Sheppard. The small Church was made from rocks found within a 5km radius of where it now stands. Surprisingly none of the rocks were reshaped. The Church had three large windows that had a magnificent view over the lake and mountains. By the edge of the water we sat on a rock for a while before enjoying a cold beer at the local. We were unsure of where we could freedom camp so we set off early. After dragging our poor van 10km on a gravel road we found a perfect sheltered and secluded spot on the other side of the lake. We had our first solar powered shower! We tied it to a tree and cleaned ourselves up. The water was surprisingly warm :) After tea we chilled out before going to sleep. The following day we went back into the town and had breakfast near the lake. We decided to trek up Mount John which was beside lake Tekapo and had awesome views of the area. The long route took us up,down and round then back up again to the peak. I forgot to put suncream on as it wasn't hot and ended up with panda eyes yet again! I never seem to learn! The views were really good and we could see how far the lake stretched. Sadly when we went back to camp in our previous nights spot we were told by a passer by that we couldn't spend the night in the area. (New Zealand has had problems in the past with campers who litter so many places now discourage it). We didn't fancy people disturbing our beauty sleep asking us to move in the middle of the night so we left Lake Tekapo. We eventually found a spot near Lake Pukaki and spent the evening with another English couple who were spending their last night in their van before heading home. I was a really nice evening. The guys did their thing with the fire and we recieved some good tips as they were at the end of their journey. There were no clouds in the sky and the stars were amazing. The milkyway was really clear and awesome to see.