027: New Zealand | The Sights: Canterbury [Pt. 2 of 3]

Welcome back to "New Zealand - The Sights" part two. Simply craving more of Mount Cook, we returned to the beautiful mountain for another round of sights and soreness. Now, you'd think that after yesterday's gruelling long hike, I'd be dissuaded for another journey; especially given how my body was starting to feel the aftermath. My willingness to fight through the pain was testament to the beauty of New Zealand. Before that, we have another attempt of me catching sunrise down by the Church of the Good Shepherd with unsatisfying results.

P029NZ01 small stacks of rocks piled on the large boulder on the rock beach.jpg
P029NZ02 sunrise skies amidst the snow-capped mountain range.jpg
P029NZ03 winding road bends out into the mountain range.jpg

Turning off Mount Cook Road and onto the Tasman Valley Road, we were en route for another day full of life’s beautiful pleasures. From the car park, the walk to the Tasman Lake lookout was tedious with a 180 on the difficulty. Starting out flat, the track slowly ramps up the incline until you’re hit with a set of steps (what perfect timing to take this hike). Even though the length of the Hooker Valley track was extensive, you had the sights to keep your mind off the walk. With this track, there wasn’t much to look at. As a result, I ended up focusing on how much of a pain the steps were on my legs. New Zealand: leg day everyday.

Hitting a slight fork, I caught a glimpse of the “Blue” Lakes. Not wanting to lose momentum, we marched on to the top. What came next was a mixture of feelings. Washing away my negativity, I was amazed by the Tasman Glacier Lake. The vast body of water accompanied by the monolithic mountains just had me mesmerised. However, the fleeting moment didn’t last. I quickly grew bored of the view and the cold gusts of wind only helped me leave it all behind.

P029NZ08b mass of rocks sit before the open area of mountains
P029NZ08a vast open area for nature to thrive in New Zealand's south islandnow.jpg
P029NZ06 three lakes can be seen in the distance on the Tasman Lake walking track.jpg
stunning mountain structure speckled with snow
Tasman Lake with still water and stunning vistas
P029NZ09 large behemoth of a mountain stands dead centre of the frame.jpg

Coming down the steps were no easier than the way up, harder even. Returning to the fork in the road, we veered off to see the "Blue" Lakes. No longer blue due to the algae and global warming (citation needed), I wasn't going in with much expectation. With eyes of a hawk, I had spotted three lakes in succession, with each surprise discovery superseding the last. It irked me. Did people not see the lakes going up to the viewpoint? The paths connecting to the succeeding areas weren't obscured or obstructed, so I'm not quite sure why people stopped at the very first one. It wasn't even that great, especially standing right at the shore.

P029NZ10 one of the 'Blue' Lakes on the Tasman Lake walking track.jpg

Following the obvious path, we walked to the oddly shaped lake frozen over with a thick layer of ice. Only marginally more interesting than the previous puddle of water, we should've moved on without much thought. If I wasn't still a child at heart. Picking up any loose rocks, I made it my mission to smash through my new enemy. That and the skidding sounds as the rocks skirted across was incredibly satisfying.

P029NZ12a this half of the lake sits frozen and still like the life that surrounds it.jpg

Power trip satiated, we moved on to the third and final lake. Stepping into the new area, my eyes lit up, glistening as the water before me. With a little bit of effort, this roundabout trek paid itself off in spades. Significantly larger and visually more appealing than the lakes preceding it, this true blue lake threw out my negative impressions out the window. And being the only two there made it all the more magical.

P029NZ16 wide sweeping panorama of the large blue lake.jpg

Funnily, as we were leaving, I was saying that it was a shame not many people took the effort to come out this far. Just as I uttered those last words, lo and behold, a group popped out of the woodwork, as did my happiness. Returning to the frozen lake, we bumped into a family where their kids were trying to smash through the ice. heh... kids will be kids.

As time went on, so did my patience. Returning to an overlooked fork, we took another track heading towards the Tasman Lake itself. With a multitude of factors, I was growing increasingly irritated by this never-ending walk. Despite being a considerably shorter distance than the Hooker Lake walk, time slowed down to a crawling halt and like that annoying child, I was incessantly asking "are we there yet?". As if that wasn't bad enough, this was only the way going to the lake... add in the return trip and I was needing a straitjacket.

P029NZ18a mix of greys and greens cover the beautiful New Zealand mountains.jpg

Having finally reached the lake, I let out a sigh of relief. Being just a rehashed view from the aerial one before, there wasn’t anything to fawn over. What would have been nice, was getting up close with the glaciers. Unfortunately, getting there was a challenge with the high stack of rocks that just wouldn’t be scalable in my condition (i.e. half dead).

P029NZ22b glaciers of all shapes and sizes can be seen in the distance.jpg

Mustering up the remainder of my strength, we sourly headed back to the car. With this unwelcome exercise and nothing spectacular to show for it, the day ended on a disappointing note. However, I quickly perked up on the way home since New Zealand is a wonderland of beautiful landscapes, as can be seen below.

P029NZ24 blue sky is cut off from the blue water by the brown masses of land.jpg
P029NZ25 panorama of New Zealand's gorgeous mountainscape.jpg

This concludes the end of part two. Thank you for reading and join me next time for the finale of NZ: The Sights Canterbury where I go places.