Room with a View

This morning, we made a brief exploration of Christchurch's attractive Victoria Park across the road from our hotel,and saw a few of the old tram cars which make regular circuits of the city, before  picking up a hire car and heading off on our next adventure. (We'll be back in a few days' time when we'll be able to see more of Christchurch.) However, today we drove south into the Canterbury Plains towards Geraldine. Soon we crossed the wide, braided Rakaia and Rangitata rivers. Just before we reached  Geraldine we made a small diversion to visit the township of Winchester. It was very small, and didn't resemble "our" Winchester at all! Then we started to climb in to the hills, with views of the snow capped mountains of the Southern Alps, ahead of us. The landscape now was  drier, and the trees sparser and much smaller.
We drove over Burkes Pass to Lake Tekapo, where we stopped for coffee and to take photos.(See extra) Then the road took us on to the next lake, Pukaki, and along its western shore, with wonderful  views of the lake and of  Aoraki/Mount Cook, at the head of the valley. Just before  we reached Mt Cook settlement, we had to stop while a huge flock of sheep (about a thousand  animals)was shepherded down the road to fresh pasture! We finally arrived at our hotel, the Hermitage, late afternoon.It is a large, modern hotel built on  the site of earlier, more modest establishments. However, the exterior does blend in with the natural environment, while  the interior has been designed to give excellent  views of Mount Cook and its neighbouring mountains. We were blown away by the view from the huge bed in our room (see main blip). The room is a very large size and very comfortable. We enjoyed an excellent buffet supper in the  main dining room with views of the mountains as darkness fell.   


Very late blipping -still catching up