The Turquoise Tranquility of Lake Tekapo

Mount John rises majestically over Lake Tekapo Village. It's an easy hike to the top from the car park at the Alpine Spa hot pools, down by the lakeshore. Just before you reach the car park there's a sign that leads you up into the woods. It's a clear path, well marked and well maintained, so there's no need for special equipment. You can manage it in trainers if you need to.

The hike takes about 45 minutes and you come out at the top to stunning views right out over the basin in every direction. It's an amazing view of Lake Tekapo in all its turquoise glory, with the counterpoint of Lake Alexandrina in the distance. There's also a cafe up the top which serves an excellent cup of coffee and - by reputation - the best ham sandwich in New Zealand (although it does cost $11, so it would want to be good).

If you'd rather not walk, of course, you can drive up although be warned that it's a very windy, pretty steep drive and they close the road in the evening, so you can't drive up after dark.

Speaking of after dark though, the Observatory that sits up top of Mt John runs stargazing tours every night. They pick you up from the centre of village in a bus and drive you up, then give you a guided tour of the facilities and the constellations. The skies above Lake Tekapo are famously clear, so if you're a stargazer then you're in for a treat, whether you do the tour or not.

The Earth & Sky tour is pretty costly at about $70, but there is an alternative for under $10 that's offered by a local woman - though this latter tour does not offer a tour of the telescopes and observatory itself, just a guide for the constellations.

MAHT is a great little company. If you're staying in Lake Tekapo for anything more than a pitstop then I highly recommend these guys to you. It is an excellent way to see this very beautiful area, coupled with the experience of being up on horseback - which is something I always thoroughly enjoy anyway.

Sam, the owner, took us out on a 2 hour trek, which winds all the way round Mount John and along the shore of the stunning Lake Tekapo itself. The views as we came around the ridge of the hill were breathtaking, and this was true to a lesser degree through the entire two hours. We wound uphill and downhill, through the woods, along the valley floor and all in all really felt like we'd gotten a serious bargain.

They offer anything from a $25 half hour trek, through 1 hour 'lake view' trek ($45), 2 hour 'Mountain top' ($75), 3.5 hour 'Glacier Country', which also takes in Lake Alexandrina ($115), a full day including experience of a working high country sheep station ($250) right up to their overnighter trek (which includes dinner, breakfast and refreshments) for $300 per person. These are very good prices for New Zealand and they cater for any level of rider, from absolute beginners upwards. They never go above a walk, so if you've heard horror stories of some of the safety records of New Zealand horse trek companies then this is one you don't have to worry about at all. Their safety record is impeccable, and I can see why.

If you're worried about being a little saddle sore the next day it's not too bad, because although they use English style riding they use Australian stock saddles, which are really comfortable. The horses are very responsive and easy to get to grips with and the views are something you will remember for a very long time to come. Very highly recommended.

I worked in Lake Tekapo for a while and was invited along to a familiarisation evening for local businesses up at the village's airstrip. The strip is owned and operated by the family who founded it, who have set up Air Safaris - a small but very well managed operation running airborne tours of the beautiful MacKenzie basin.

I think that it's important - particularly when you're paying a lot for something ($280 for the Grand Traverse when we did it) - that the people operating the company are agreeable. The Air Safaris people were excellent from start to finish. Honest, friendly, genuine and extremely enthusiastic about their company - which was a refreshing change after several experiences with people in the NZ tourist trade who seemed unpleasantly jaded by their occupation.

The Grand Traverse itself is a spectacular experience. 'Every seat a window seat' is something they pride themselves on, and rightly so. From the drive out to the airstrip the scenery is magnificent, but once the little 1 or 2-prop light aricraft takes off you are immediately treated to an endless succession of postcard perfect views.

They take you out over the MacAuley Valley, over several glaciers including the Tasman, Fox and Franz Josef, close enough to see right across to New Zealand's rugged West Coast and then right up close and personal with Mount Cook itself. The whole journey is accompanied by a very well informed commentary, familiarising you with each element as you pass by it.

The whole trip takes under an hour and by the end of it you really feel like you've experienced something. It's a profoundly beautiful sight flying above several kilometers of glacial ice and then seeing the peak of Mount Cook at eye level ... so to speak.

I would recommend the Grand Traverse to anybody. They're extremely accommodating and can be flexible with their flight times - they'lll even come pick you up if need be - and as I mentioned above, it was a pleasure handing over my cash to a company that really do everything in their power to ensure you have a truly memorable experience. Top marks.

Pepe's can be found down near the Earth & Sky offices in Lake Tekapo. Everything in the village can be pretty easily found because it's all on the one promenade, and Pepe's has prominent signage out front.

It opens at 5pm through most of the year and when you go in you'll find a few cozy booths, a well stocked bar, friendly, helpful staff and an open log fire. It's a great place to go in winter for this alone, as they keep it well stoked and it really adds to the atmosphere of the place.

The menu is simple but very good - it's all relatively straightforward pizza and pasta dishes (as the name would suggest) themed along the standard Italian/Godfather type norms, but the portions are good, it's all freshly prepared and it's not too expensive. This is perhaps where Pepe's stands out most in Lake Tekapo, as it's a very expensive place in general, being way out in the middle of nowhere with a captive tourist crowd. When we went we got a large pizza between us for $29, which was plenty to satisfy two large appetites, and their pasta dishes generally come in at about 13-15 dollars. For what you get, that's a good price.

Service was prompt and pleasant, the restaurant was clean and well decorated with a good, friendly atmosphere. All in all, it's a great place to eat if you're looking for something tasty and simple and relaxed. Comes recommended by this reviewer.

New Zealand is known for the good quality of its budget accommodation. There is plenty to choose from and many options have bags of character as well as (usually) very knowledgeable and enthusiastic hosts. We stayed at a couple of the worse inner city hostels before coming to Lake Tekapo and finding somewhere that instantly redeemed this oft-talked about accommodation option.

Lake Tekapo is largely a holiday weekend type of place, with 80% of the housing being holiday homes for city-dwelling Kiwis. The village itself (discounting the holiday homes, that is) is one street, where you'll find just about everything the place has to offer. There's a Four-Square supermarket, a garage, a pub, plenty of eateries and lots of choices of activity. Tailor Made sits away from this hub of activity, up the hill at the edge of town in a peaceful garden setting. It's still very close to everything though, as it's only a five minute walk from the stunningly beautiful lake.

It sleeps 37 people in a variety of options, from a 6-bed dorm and 4 bed share rooms through to twins and doubles with either shared bathroom or ensuites. The best of these rooms are the double and twin ensuite rooms in the VIP building. If you're staying here in an ensuite then it's worth requesting one of these as they're modern, well decorated and renovated far more recently than the other double ensuite in the kitchen building.

All the rooms in the VIP building are very good quality and the management will generally steer you into one of these if they're available. If not, then the other rooms all have very good quality beds which are fully made up and each of the three buildings has its own showers and toilets, so there's no traipsing through the cold or the rain to get to a separate bathroom block.

If you want a cheaper option then it's worth upgrading from the 6-bed dorm to one of the 4-bed share rooms. They are far better quality, although the dorm is better than most backpacker dorms.

The best thing about this place is the common rooms. There's always a good atmosphere in this place - the kitchen is spacious and well equipped with plenty of storage space for your food and the lounge has no TV (there's no TV at all at Tailor Made) so people actually talk to each other. It has a great log burner to keep you toasty warm in the winter months and a good, communal, welcoming vibe that is helped by the friendly and enthusiastic owners.

It's advisable to book in advance because the place tends to fill up quite quickly on busy days. There's plenty of free parking and a big garden with plenty of seating and a really nice hammock for lazing in the sunshine.

All in all, whilst not the cheapest hostel we stayed at in New Zealand ($25 for a dorm bed, up to $74 for a double ensuite - $3 per person discount for BBH members) you get good value for your dollar. You avoid the party crowd as it's generally a quieter traveller that comes through here. You'll often go into the lounge at night to find several people collaborating on a jigsaw puzzle while a few other read quietly near the fire. If that sounds good to you then this is the place to stay - if you're looking for a party hostel then definitely look elsewhere.