We left Omarama in fairly bright weather but we headed inland towards Mount Cook and it soon became very cloudy and then very rainy. It was also very windy, so any scenic flights round Mount Cook were cancelled, causing some people to be very disappointed. You probably couldn't have seen much through the mists of rain anyway. The alternative plan, failing flights, had been to do a walk from Mount Cook village, but almost nobody felt inclined to walk in the driving rain, so most of us went into the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Centre. There was an interesting little museum about the history of the area, as well as some memorabilia from Sir Edmund Hilary. Mount Cook was first climbed in 1894, and the Hermitage, still the only hotel in the park, was built the following year. Apparently, tourists used to be ferried up to the hotel by coach, but it took days.
In 1906, this De Dion Buton made the first motorised trip to the hotel, and that proved that motorised transport was possible.
Below is the original vehicle which brought the visitors up from Fairlie.
Because of the constant danger of breakdowns in such a remote place, it carried a basket of carrier pigeons so if there were a breakdown, messages could be sent back to Fairlie requesting help. Carrier pigeons were also used to notify the hotel about how many people were coming up; later, telephones were installed so the pigeons could be retired.
After our brief visit to Mount Cook National Park (Mount Cook itself largely invisible) we drove out of the park and down through the Mackenzie county to Lake Tekapo for lunch. Lake Tekapo is the most beautiful greeny-blue colour, and has a wonderful background of snowy mountains. The colour is caused by 'rock flour' - finely ground particles of rock brought down by glaciers and held in suspension by the melt water.
After lunch we paid a quick visit to the Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1935 to provide for both tourists and local people. The name is explained by the fact that Mackenzie county is well known for sheep farming; it was named after somebody called Mackenzie who brought the first flock of sheep into the high country in the mid 1800s.
The church was build of stone from the surroundings, and behind the altar is a huge window looking out on the lake, so the view is wonderful. My camera can't cope with the differences in the light levels, but it gives you an idea.
Not far from the church is the statue of a border collie.
The statue was erected in appreciation of the collie dog, without whose help the grazing of this mountainous country would have been impossible
We set off again, this time for Geraldine, home of the world's largest knitted jersey. I kid you not - it's in the Guinness Book of Records!
The man who knitted it (with a knitting machine) worked at a knitting factory where every year they threw out hundreds of thousands of little cogged wheels. He took these wheels and broke off the little cogs and used them to make a mosaic of the Bayeux Tapestry. There are over 2 million tiny little pieces. This is one of the more recognisable bits, the death of Harold.
He has also extended the Tapestry up to the Coronation of William, and he says he has another bit ready which recounts the story of the Battles of Fulford Gate and Stamford Bridge (the first when Edwin and Morcar failed to halt the Northmen, the second when Harold utterly defeated them).
Anything else after that must be an anti-climax. However, we did make a quick toilet stop at the big salmon!
Then we headed into Christchurch for our final two nights.
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