Impossibly Blue Lake Tekapo

On our first full day on the South Island we drove west out of Christchurch and toward Lake Tekapo, a glacial lake situated in the higher altitudes just East of Mt Cook and the heart of the Southern Alps on the South Island.  Described as a lake of extraordinary blue color, we were expecting quite a sight.  And we got it.

From NZ tourism... "The amazing turquoise blue colour of Lake Tekapo is created by "rock flour" - the glaciers in the headwaters grind the rock into fine dust. These suspended particles in combination with the sunlight create Lake Tekapo's unique water colour.

We took a few short walks around the lake's edge, and near the Church of the Good Shepherd, which is an iconic church built in 1935 and is often referred to as the "most photographed building in NZ." Here is a great shot of the girls, and of the church.

We also drove up to the top of the hill that overlooks the lake, and to a famous astronomical observatory called Mt John Observatory.  More pictures of this impossibly blue lake ensued

and then it was off to dinner and some rest before our last outing of the day, late night stargazing.

As the presence of the observatory would indicate, Lake Tekapo area is known as one of the finest stargazing places in the world.  Who knew they rank these kinds of things?  Anyway, for what its worth, apparently we now need to travel to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile so that I can top Lake Tekapo (#2 on the world's best stargazing list).  According to Mr Kristian Wilson of Earth and Sky Education...

most of the areas in the Northern Hemisphere had too much light pollution which prevented good stargazing, whereas the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve, of which Lake Tekapo was part, had used special shields and lightbulbs for 30 years to point the light downwards in order to preserve the night sky.

Mr Wilson said being surrounded by mountains which kept the low cloud away and made the stability of the night sky clearer and sharper because it was further away from the ocean also made Lake Tekapo a perfect location for stargazing.

We waited until dark (10:30 PM or so it started to get dark, and by 11PM it was much better) and drove back to the hill above town.  We were unable of course to take any pictures of the night sky, but lets just say that our parents, from Birmingham, AL and Gillette, New Jersey saw a few more stars than they are used to seeing!  Jen had a star finder app on her iPhone that allowed us to identify stars and constellations we were seeing based on where she was standing and pointing her phone.  That was cool.  So the grandparents had a great opportunity to see the Southern Cross and other Southern hemispheric constellations, and the "magellanic" clouds, which are vast sections of the milky way clustered together so closely that they appear to be clouds.

What a pretty spot! Here is one final shot of all nine of us!