Before heading out of Christchurch, I paid a visit to the Quake City Exhibition. In the heart of what once was the Central Business District, this exhibition explains the background of the earthquake in 2011 (and the historic ones), the science behind plate tectonics, liquefaction, sand volcanoes…

But it also gives a human touch to it, with the personal stories of people who were rescued from impossible situations. There was also some frightening CCTV footage on display.

I also had a great breakfast in the container village shopping mall. At day, in the sun, and with people around shopping, it is not as sad as it might have sounded in my previous posts.

Still, I had quite a trip ahead, so at lunchtime I hit the road again. It was a long and rather boring drive south, through one of the big plains in Canterbury, the street being one big long line for like 150 kilometers, no curves, just cutting through fields, farms and little road towns. All with a nice backdrop of the mountain range, coming closer bit by bit.

Finally, the road went up, and I reached my destination for the night: Burkes pass. Discovered by its name giver, the pass leads up to McKenzie Country. Named after a famous sheep thief, who defied the authorities for ages. He became so famous that the whole district just became known as McKenzie’s Country.

Burkes pass is a tiny little nest, sitting at the entry to the pass, hopeful for a bright future… Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, the railway stopped in close-by Fairlie, who made it into the local ‘hub’, and Burkes Pass fell back to sleep…

Burke’s pass was just a random choice as a stop, basically dictated by the fact that most other locations further down the road, in Lake Tekapo or closer to Mt. Cook, were already booked out, had only bunk beds left in a 12-bed-dorm, or were priced way out of my budget, starting at 250 NZ$ a night.

Turned out it was a great coincidence, as the Earth&Sky stargazers at Mt John Observatory are close by.

I arrived in Lake Tekapo around 6, visited the lake, had a look at their little church, and a world famous Collie statue, honoring the guardian of New Zealand’s sheep…

Slightly bigger than its neighbor Burkes pass, it basically consists out of a stretch of touristy bars, supermarkets, restaurants and local tour organizers, plus the aforementioned church and dog statue, and a little spa… Plus countless, motels, backpacker places and multi-star lodges.

The main attraction is the vast, deep glacial Lake Tekapo, and the hills and mountains on its sides… These hills have a beautiful appearance: mostly covered in grass, they look like someone threw a velvet blanket over them, from far.

After that, I went to the local hot springs to soak a bit in the outdoor tubs, before having dinner in one of the local bar&grill joints, waiting for the night tour.