- New Zealand Travellers
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Abel Tasman
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Auckland
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Cape Reinga
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Christchurch
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Dunedin
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Franz Josef
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Greymouth
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Kaikoura
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Lake Tekapo
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Milford Sound
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Mount Maunganui
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Napier
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Nelson
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Paihia
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Queenstown
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Rotorua
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Taupo
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Wellington
Lake Tekapo is a very small, chilled out place. The area is dominated by the Lake and the Southern Alps. This must be one of the most beautiful accessible spots in New Zealand.
Things to do
Because of its natural beauty, Lake Tekapo has lots of activities on offer.
If you are looking for something different, the local Mount John Observatory runs night tours where they take you up to the observatory and show you distant starts and galaxies through one of their powerful telescopes.
While in Lake Tekapo, we did some horse-riding and visited the observatory.
Riding a horse through the forest with the backdrop of the lake and snow-capped mountains felt like something out of Lord of the Rings. We went on a very slow horse trek through the forest down to the waters edge and stopped a few times for photos, there is something so natural, so simple about horse-riding in an environment like this.
The observatory was a really great experience. We were picked up at 11:30pm and returned at 1:30am. We were shown stars visible with the naked eye (with the assistance of a very powerful laser) and also allowed to look through one of the powerful telescopes. It was interesting seeing stars up-close and learning their distances from Earth. The scientists were very friendly and answered all our questions.
Accommodation
We stayed at Lakefront Backpackers Lodge. It is located right on the lakefront and has amazing views of the lake and the Southern Alps. Lots of the rooms have patios and large double windows looking out onto the lake. The hostel looks quite new and well looked after. The men’s toilet/shower room was being refurbished while we were staying so everyone had to use the Ladies, which was quite clean and large enough for the hostel. The hostel is quite small and only has one communal area which makes the most of the view by having large windows. The kitchen is clean and quite large but lacked enough cutlery, crockery, pots and pans. Outside, there is a table and some benches along with a barbeque.