Picton to Mt. Cook

More photos from this segment!:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103620108216329120374/PictonToMountCook?authkey=Gv1sRgCOjo3NSCq4iY6wE&noredirect=1

Welcome to the South Island of New Zealand! We dropped off our rental car in Wellington, boarded the InterIslander Ferry, and pick up another car in Picton four hours later.

We started our two-week trip with two days at Queen Charlotte Sound, hiking sections of the 70km Queen Charlotte Track. Most of the trail is pretty flat, making for some easy walking. We were treated to views of sounds on both sides of the trail.

As we made our way south, we stopped by many of the island's wine-making regions. This was in the Marlborough region. Just like houses in New Zealand, wineries there were modern and tastefully decorated.

We stopped at Kaikoura as we drove along the eastern coast of the island. The walk around the tip of the peninsula there is wonderful! It's only a couple of hours, and you get to see a ton of wildlife and interesting rock formations. 

One of the best days we had was in Lake Tekapo. It suddenly clearly up as we got near it. The setting of the town at one end of a large blue lake is perfect. Plus, there is a observatory just up a road from the town that offers one of the best views in the world and serves delicious cappucinos. (Of couse, we opted for the hike up to the observatory.)

The place felt so remote, yet it's so accessible. It's such an underrated destination. If it was in anywhere near New York, it would be packed with tourists on a nice day like this.

Just a short drive from Lake Tekapo is Mount Cook National park, home of New Zealand's highest mountain. We camped in this beautiful spot near the entrance to the park. We were pratically the only ones there! We set up our tent and made a yummy grilled salmon and veggies dinner before heading out to the glaciers for a sunset walk.

I don't know how we managed to get perfect weather the entire time we were on the Western side of the South Island - it certainly isn't the typical weather here. But I was grateful! The hikes in Mount Cook were short and extremely rewarding, just the way I like them.

There's more to the South Island of New Zealand!!! Coming up is my most anticipated part of the trip - the Queenstown region and the famous Milford Track.