Leaving the lakes and mountains

As we leave Mount Cook Village, Aoraki is shrouded in cloud; somehow this makes it easier to leave the mountains for the plains of Canterbury and eventually home. 

Lake Pukaki has none of her brilliant turquoise this morning, trading it for a far more subtle paler blue, but by the time we reach the heights of Mt John Observatory, her sister lake, Tekapo, has adopted that same glorious unreal turquoise of two days ago. 

We hope for fabulous views and tranquility when we arrive at the observatory, but whilst the former are undoubtedly there, a coach load has arrived and commandeered the coffee shop, spilling out over the terraces with cacophonous chatter. We take in the stunning views and keep our distance, then continue on our journey. 

Next, it’s another ‘must see’ spot - The Church of the Good Shepherd. It’s a tiny, simple chapel, but it’s situated amongst glorious scenery, and rather than the traditional stained glass window, worshippers can gaze at lake and mountain. Of course, once more the spot is inundated, with couples and families all vying for a photo of themselves against this simplest of buildings, but it seems to me that most of them seem not to noice what’s around them, just wanting a record of them being there. Strange though that is to me, to them I’m  sure the notion of just photographing the church against its glorious backdrop is equally bizarre. It takes some time to find a space between the queues of selfie-searchers, but eventually, patience is rewarded. Of course, the holy grail would be to capture this on a clear starlit night - a Mecca for astrophotographers. 

https://www.churchofthegoodshepherd.org.nz/about

Nearer the lake, I’m pleased to notice a few surviving lupins - I’m disappointed that I’ve missed them at their prime - I’d really hoped for this - but at least I manage  a few shots as a token gesture. 

Also my the lake, crops of stone cairns have emerged. I know they’re very controversial - destroying the natural environment by moving stones - and where one appears, others quickly follow. But they remind me of the Apachetas of Peru, mystic rock piles placed by the Incas to commune with Pachamama, the god of the sky, soil and underworld, and I can’t help but find them mystical here against the lake and mountains. 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/apachetas-of-alto-de-chivay

Soon, we leave behind the glacial lakes and mountains, eventually heading onto the golden Canterbury plains and onwards to our base for our final two days, Christchurch. 

As a bit of a change today, I’m tempted to go with a mono of Mt John, but in the end, I’ve gone with a view of Lake Tekapo from the observatory, with a further landscape mono, and shots around The Church of the Good Shepherd. 

Many thanks for your generous response to yesterday’s glacier lake.