The Visual Perfection of Secluded Lake Tekapo

For anyone who’s been, the moment driving over the last bend in the road after miles of somewhat barren countryside into the village of Lake Tekapo isn't something that is easily forgotten.

Very suddenly the mountains rise, sharp and white regardless of the time of year amidst the astounding turquoise of the lake before it.

It is very likely - if you take the time to drive the hour from Queenstown or the three hours from Christchurch (the only way to arrive in Lake Tekapo) then you have at least heard about the famous lake, the picturesque church, and the visuals of the beginning of New Zealand's Southern Alps.
But it would be very hard to appreciate the grandeur of it until you have driven upon it.

Drive yourself into this country if at all possible. Aside from the fact that the buses are expensive, crowded, sporadic and hard to arrange times if you haven't booked in advance - it's impossible to appreciate Lake Tekapo and the McKenzie region of New Zealand on a tour buses time table.

Dozens of tour buses stop through out the day as tourists pile out in the parking lot of the Church of the Good Shepherd for a few brief snapshots, and then back on their way. And even though Lake Tekapo is great for a brief stop on that way (definitely plan to have your lunch there is you are driving across the south island) it is worth spending more than a few moments in and really experiencing.

If for no other reason - stay for the experience of the Tekapo skies at night. Even with out the somewhat pricey tours at the local observatory, simply standing outside your hostel/hotel - or even better wandering down to the quiet shores of the lake at night, you can hardly expect to see a more impressive night sky anywhere in the world.

This is a great town for stopping off on a break between travels. It is a difficult place to stay - if you were hoping to stay longer, given how few amenities there are for how far away the nearest shopping is. (For anything more than a Four Square (convenient store) you must go at least an hour into Timaru on the east coast.) There are no local shops for food, no butcher. I don't quite understand how the locals manage to live there, and having spent 8 months there myself I know how very difficult it is, even when it is not in the grips of a severe New Zealand winter.

But as a stop off for sight seeing and photo opportunities, you can not get much better.

It must be said that the dining options in Lake Tekapo are slim to none. It is, after all, a very small village despite the renowned it's had for the lake and a few of it's newer sight seeing options.
Add to that a nice little selection of budget accomodation, and you have a large number of tourists passing through the area.

And it's also true that there are very few places to stop between Christchurch and Queenstown, and even fewer places to eat. Lake Tekapo - though it has more options than surrounding towns and places to stop, still only has about half a dozen places to eat. And many of these are very over priced.

Which brings us to Pepes Pizza and Pasta.
Located on the main street of the very small town centre of Lake Tekapo - this is easy to find and easy to get to from any point in the town (just a few minutes walk from most hostels and hotels)

This - quite simply - is a very nice little place to eat. It is small, but can accomodate several groups of people if necessary. It has a very pleasant atmosphere, very relaxed and cozy. It is well put together and very comfortable with a large wood burning fire, and a rustic feel.

And the pizzas and food in general are very good. I can't complain about anything I ate at Pepes in the time that I lived in Lake Tekapo. And the service, too, is very good. At every visit the staff were very pleasant and helpful.

I thought that it was a little bit pricy for a pizza in the middle of nowhere in rural New Zealand - but you soon realize you will be paying tourist prices for most everything, and in that light it is not too overpriced.

All in all, if you are prepared to pay for a meal and are looking for something reasonable, pleasant and very tasty, then this is an excellent option.

Of all the places I visited in my year in New Zealand, I spent the most time in the little village of Lake Tekapo on the South Island. It was here that I spent almost 6 months living and or working, and though it's a small place, I really got a feel for what it had to offer the other travellers coming through in that time.

And so it is with some level of confidence and a great deal of enthusiasm that I can say that the best activity to do in Lake Tekapo is a Mackenzie horse trek.

Lake Tekapo isn't a big place, though it is almost dead centre in the middle of the South Island and a great place to stop on your way from Christchurch to Queenstown. And the town has taken advantage of this in recent years and many 'tourist attractions' have popped up.
But - like much of New Zealand - many of these things are vastly over priced and over toursitted. But there are a few things here that have been around a while and offer a great experience, and Mackenzie Alpine Treks ranks very highly amongst these.

Not only would I recommend it as one of the best things to do in Lake Tekapo - I would recommend it as THE horseback trek you do in New Zealand.
Trekking is something (coming from Texas) I always look forward to doing on any trip that I take. And being in New Zealand for a year - a very horsy country by all accounts - I was very excited about the prospects.
This quickly deflated, however, when I started to see the prices of treks and what was being offered. They seem to average around $90 for an hour group ride - and that is far more than I'm willing to pay to sit on a horse for an hour.

However - near the end of our stay, we met up with the trek leader and manager of Mackenzie’s, Sam (who lived across the street) and arranged to go on a ride. And I have to say - it was possibly the best spent two hours I had in Lake Tekapo.

Very reasonably priced for starters - they offer an excellent range of rides from anything from half an hour (for $25NZ - an excellent price) if you want something a bit cheaper or are a novice on a horse and only want a taster.
Then they offer a great range of prices for different rides above and beyond that:

- 1 Hour Lake View $45
- 2 Hour Mountain Top $75
- 3.5 Hour Glacier Country $115
- Full Day $250

They even offer over night camping trips all around the McKenzie region. Each of these treks offers a different level and degree of difficulty as well as views and local scenery, designed for whatever level you might be at in your equestrian skills.

I really can't begin to recommend this highly enough. I took the two hour Mountain Top trek and wished desperately I'd had time to take one of the even longer ones. Sam - the trek guide - was excellent. I have learned over the years how easily the trek guide can make or break a good trekking experience, and Sam is quite possibly the best I've ever had. Pleasant, helpful and talkative - but not patronizing or too tour-guidey. An excellent person to have along on the trek.
Also the treks themselves are spectacularly set out, with a wonderful variety of scenery and riding experiences.

But possibly most importantly - they have a wonderful range of horses. Many of them rescued standardbreds that no longer are racing; these were the most pleasant riding horses I've ever experienced on a trek. Very easy, very responsive and with a great attitude. You don't need to be well experienced to ride them, but you can real response to you as a rider. I was blown away by my gelding, Bourbon - who was an immense pleasure to ride.
The 2 hour trek was up Mt John, and did have some steep inclines at places, so I would recommend doing this one only if you have some very basic skill at riding. But if you are unsure - then try out the half hour ride, and then come back for a longer one!

An excellent, excellent experience and just 2 minutes drive out of Lake Tekapo.

Something that does unfortunately become very apparent very quickly while travelling around New Zealand is the cost of things. The incredible increase in tourism over the past few years seems to have made every single possible attraction into a tourist mecca - and the prices and crowds reflect that.

After being in the country for almost 6 months I was starting to wonder if the pristine and remote views I excitedly came to New Zealand as a photographer for were available with out a huge price tag and a busy crowd of tourists.

When first arriving in Lake Tekapo, a flight over the stunning lakes and mountains of the area was very high on my list of things to do - but time spent travelling around the country depleted my budget and the price tag did start to sound a little bit pricey.

However with the season rolling happily into spring, the light changing and the mountains still covered in snow, I recently decided to give it a try - and I can happily say that there isn't money I've spent in New Zealand that I've been so comfortable with parting with.

The average price for the Grand Traverse is $280 - which does sound pricey, but if you are just beginning (or even planning your trip in it's early stages) you will soon learn that for what the average cost of things in New Zealand is, this is pretty good value for money.

To start with - it's a wonderful company, and that alone makes it easier to part with the money. Having been in business for 40 years they are family run with a small collection of little 15 seater planes all sitting on the airstrip a few minutes outside of the town of Lake Tekapo.

They could not be more friendly or helpful (you can book a flight at the office in the middle of the village, or in fact at many of the hotels and backpackers in town. Some of them offer a $25 discount on the flight package if you stay with them.) and they are extremely knowledgable about the area.

The flight itself is amazing - one of the most incredible things I have done and a Must do for all photographers. I've heard many horror stories over the years about flights in tiny planes, but with the exception of a few small bumps over the glaciers, it was a pretty comfortable ride.

The flight starts by going over Lake Tekapo and glides through the valley and along the mountain pass so that you can see the silt running into the lakes, giving them their amazing color, the ice moving along the mountains and into the valley - and most importantly you get a bird's eye perfect view of the stunning Franz Josef and Fox glaciers.

And for me, the best point was flying right around Mt Cook - New Zealand's highest peak. The view was incredible, and making several loops so that everyone got a great view.

The company is proud of the fact that they offer planes with a window seat for everyone. Try to get one near the back so that the propeller isn't in the way of photos - and go in the evening if possible to get the changing light.
A wonderful experience, and worth splashing out for.

This is a hostel that lands directly in the centre range of hostel/backpacker stays. It has many plus points for the average traveller, and though is certainly a backpackers and not a hotel – it doesn’t have an overwhelming backpacker vibe that some do.

There seems to be a good variety of travellers that come through here, and on any given night you may be staying with any kind of group – which makes for a much nicer atmosphere. You would as likely see a family group visiting as a 20 year old backpacker on a gap year, and you don’t arrive feeling suddenly that you’re staying in a cruddy version of a college dorm.

There’s a very homey feel to Tailor Made, which has a really nice location just about three minutes walk from the quaint little village of Lake Tekapo (which sits directly on the mind bogglingly blue lake itself) and yet is secluded enough that you are not on the main road and can sit outside the hostel on a cool night (or on a very cold night if you choose) and quietly enjoy the stars above the Lake Tekapo sky which are famous (and rightfully so) for their brilliance.

The hostel itself is run by a friendly and very helpful couple who live across the street and though the place does feel very comfortable and inviting – you don’t ever feel that you are a stranger staying in someone’s home.

The rooms are – for the most part – quite comfortable and though the décor is very dated and not the flashiest hostel you will find in New Zealand it is very clean and tidy and kept in good order.

The bathrooms are very clean and there are plenty of showers and toilets for the shared facility rooms. The showers (though not the best décor) are actually excellent. Two in particular are very spacious and the water pressure and temperature is always superb. Lake Tekapo is in the alpine mountain region just east of Mount Cook and gets very cold in the winter, but the big fire that is always going in the lounge area of the hostel means that there is always more than enough hot water for showering and washing up.

The facilities are good, offering internet access (though once again for the extortionate rate of $2 for 20 minutes) A spacious and clean kitchen with plenty of fridge space and kitchen utensils to use. It’s quite a social kitchen, there seems to always be a group cooking a large and wonderfully smelling meal.

The lounge area is again dated but comfortable with some magazines, books and games to choose from, but there is no TV anywhere in this hostel including in the ensuite rooms. This makes for a nice environment in the common room areas, but can be a bit disappointing when you are ready to retire to your room.

They offer dorms, twins, quads, doubles and double ensuites for reasonable prices (without BBH cards the dorm bed is $25 a night and the double ensuite is $74) a fairly good price for New Zealand budget accommodation.
There are also a laundry area and free tennis courts that can be used by the guests.

All in all a nice, well priced choice to stay in the area. Possibly it’s nicest selling point is the garden area which is well kept and very inviting – chill out in the hammock out front if the weather allows, or have your lunch on one of the picnic tables. There’s a great BBQ area out back with a stunning view of the snow capped mountains in the background.

Tailor Made also has very comfortable beds – which are always nice after a long day on the road.

With the beautiful shining turquoise lake sitting so perfectly against the little town, everything in Lake Tekapo is well placed. There are a selection of places to eat more than there is anything else in this little village, and unfortunately it seems that most of them think they are in a bigger and more expensive place than they actually are. (The average meal price in Lake Tekapo is the same or more than it would be in Christchurch, minus the atmosphere and quality you would get in the bigger city.)

So if you are passing through this little town and money is an issue (and to be honest, it will be for most travellers in New Zealand) then a good option is the little spot called Doughboy’s Café.

It’s not the flashiest place you will stop to eat in New Zealand, or the cheapest, but they do have a really nice selection of good which comes in pretty good sizes for not too unreasonable prices.

If the weather is nice I highly recommend that you get something from the bakery part of the café (they have a bakery section which is all viewable behind the glass as you walk to the counter. I’m not sure where the difference comes in here, but the bakery food is wonderful, and worth paying a little for, where as the actual food which is cooked in the café is not very good at all. The pies on display are the only things in Doughboys you can see which are not from the bakery section.) Down to the shores of the lake just a minute or two behind the café and sit on one of the many available benches or picnic tables to enjoy your lunch.

Doughboy’s is an especially good stop for a morning refuel, which is very good if you are on the road headed to Mt Cook or other destinations. They have wonderful huge scones for about $2.50 and their muffins are outstanding. Ask for a warmed cheese and bacon scone for a delightful breakfast.

They also do wonderful keeshes of all kinds each for about $4.50 or $5. A little bit pricier, but wonderful to the last bite. I highly, highly recommend the bacon and egg slice, a breakfast keesh which is very filling and delicious, and much cheaper than an all day breakfast which run about $13 at any café in town.

They also do really surprisingly nice coffees from $3 - $4 for a small depending on what type you want. They do a very nice flat white coffee which goes beautifully with their scones or muffins.

The service here is far from great, though, it must be said. They aren’t the friendliest group of women you will meet in New Zealand and if you get the coffee before you finish your meal you will be doing very good indeed. But that being said, it is still one of the best places for a quick meal or light breakfast in town – and one I’ve spent many mornings at on my way to the lake.

If there is one sight that is more photographed or prolific than the lake itself in Lake Tekapo it is certainly the Church of the Good Shepherd. With it’s charming name and drop dead location perched out on the edge of Lake Tekapo with a picture perfect backdrop against the crystal clear blue lake and the snow covered mountains surrounding it, it’s no wonder people make the trip to this remote little town in the McKenzie just to take their own photos of it.

And it is certainly beautiful, and at a wonderful location. As a photographer I was more than a little intrigued and excited about the prospect of shooting it myself. And in the time I have spent in the area I have gathered a rather nice collection of shots – but there are some unfortunate down falls to this site which make it less than it could and should be.

The building itself is very nice, and is in fact an actual operating church where they hold multi-denominational services on Sunday mornings. So if you are a long way from home and feel the need for a Sunday morning dose of spirituality then the Church of the Good Shepherd could certainly provide that.

It’s also widely used for weddings, not only for the great atmosphere to the place but for the amazing backdrop to scenery and all the photos, as well as the history that is wrapped up in the building itself.

But it loses something immense for me as a tourist attraction in that there is an absolute non-stop flow of buses and tourists in and around it.
For me the appeal of it is it’s stark beauty and it’s placement in the area has great heart in such a remote and beautiful place. It’s loneliness to me is its greatest appeal as it gives it the character and beauty it’s so famous for. The building itself, despite its awe-inspiring location, isn’t that astounding. It’s the character of the place which is so impressive.

For me this is largely lost when it is constantly being surrounded by 20 or 30 people from a tour group all snapping photos and wandering about talking loudly in various accents.
Not to mention what this does to the photo opportunities.

If you are coming to get a shot of The Church, be sure to come at sunset or dawn – and you do seem to get the best light off the lake very early in the morning before the tour buses arrive
Also if you can catch it just after a bit of snow has fallen it looks particularly fresh and beautiful in the morning.

But regardless of what day or time of year it is, there is no point in attempting to photograph it from about 10 am – 430 or 5 pm as it will always be surrounded by tourists and often there are two or even three tour buses parked in the parking lot in front of it which make it impossible to photograph from a distance.

There are two things that Lake Tekapo is really known for – the surreal colour of it’s lake, and the astonishing clarity of it’s stars. And there is no better place to appreciate both than from the top of Mt John or from the Mt John Observatory.

Lake Tekapo is currently applying for status as a Unesco World Heritage Site for it’s stars. If you have any interest in astrology at all then this is a must see while you are in the area. Any clear night out does offer an astonishing view of the stars above Lake Tekapo, but seen from the top of Mt John on a crisp and clear night is a truly astonishing thing.

You may have heard the complaint that there isn’t much to do in Lake Tekapo – and in the off season between the summer crowds and the winter skiers, this could certainly seem the case. For such a small place there is a huge tourist pull, do largely to the stunning colour of the lake and the famous Church of the Good Shepherd.
This does, unfortunately mean that you get an awful lot of people coming through a place who’s best virtue and selling point is it’s quite solitude and peaceful scenery.

Come to Lake Tekapo with high expectations for the lake and scenery (it will surpass everyone that you have and then some) but don’t hope for much from the town in terms of the famous ‘New Zealand thrill seekers’ activities. Some companies have shot up in recent times to take advantage of the gap in the tourism for the area and take advantage is exactly what they do. Unless you have a lot of money to burn, (or come for water or winter sports) I recommend you come for the wonderful wandering you can do all over the area and avoid the pricey commercial activities that are thrown in.

One of, if not the best things you can do while in the area is Mt John. Though not the tallest mountain in the area (to be fair, Mt Cook is just down the road…) it is a very, very pleasant one to make your way up – either by foot or by car.

To walk to the top takes about 45 minutes leaving from the car park of the hot pools. An especially nice walk to make in the fall – you wander up a long and winding path through thick fallen pine needles to the top of Mt John, which over looks the McKenzie basin and Lake Tekapo village and the stunning lake itself. This isn’t an especially strenuous walk, and is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. It’s great if you can catch it in the late afternoon – and photographs from the top can be spectacular.

And best of all, there is a wonderful café at the observatory at the top which serves up excellent coffees and cakes which you can have while enjoying the view.
The observatory also offers guided tours of the night sky to enjoy once the sun goes down – and though it is tremendous to do (I admit I have done it) it is vastly over priced. I was lucky enough to participate in a charity fund raising even which meant I got to experience the tour for $15 – and though I did thoroughly enjoy it, even that seems a little pricey to me for what is essentially walking around looking up at stars. The standard price of $68 is, as far as I’m concerned, outrageous, though they are now offering a standard Tekapo Starlight tour (like the one I took) for $15.
But never fear, enjoy the mt (by car or foot is equally good) and check out the stars for yourself from anywhere in Lake Tekapo.