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Food Travel Postcard: Lake Tekapo/Mt. Cook/Aoraki, New Zealand

October 11, 2014

Greetings from the future!!!

No, really, it’s tomorrow here. I’m in gorgeous, sunny New Zealand, soaking up the unbelievable scenery, talking to awesome Kiwis (the people, not the bird), and hanging out with three cool friends. We’re here for the Feast of Tabernacles, but since we were coming so far (and spending so much money!) we wanted to cram as much awesome into our trip as possible. As always when I travel, I am also super excited about trying all kinds of local food and drink!

sawdon station house

We spent our first few days in the Mackenzie region, after flying into Christchurch and then driving a few hours down to Lake Tekapo. When we arrived at our first rental house, we were utterly charmed, and visions of coffee and wine in front of the fire danced in our heads.

lake tekapo

We immediately set out to explore, taking in the gorgeous turquoise waters of Lake Tekapo before heading into the village in search of sustenance.

oyster stout

We had decent pizzas and good local beer. Great, interesting beer is one of the things New Zealand seems to offer in abundance. This is a local oyster stout, and when I asked the waiter if it had oysters in it he said no, but then the internet told me otherwise. Oops… :S

jess lake tekapo

I feel like I haven’t been properly warm since I got here. This whole region was so much colder than expected, I was not prepared!

jess tasman lake ice

We took a glacier lake boat tour and ate some 300-year-old ice. It tastes like regular ice, so you’re really not missing anything.

curry chicken pie

And then fueled up with delicious savoury pies. While I haven’t been able to get a handle on what’s truly unique to New Zealand cuisine, they definitely lean toward meat pies, delicious things wrapped in phyllo/filo dough, and all manner of scones. So basically my kind of place. This was a curry chicken pie, and we needed the fuel for what came next.

swingbridge

Once we were fueled up, we set out from the Hermitage Hotel in Mt. Cook Village onto the Hooker Valley Trail. It’s an absolutely stunning track that takes you up to a glacier and glacier lake at the end. All-in-all the hike takes about 3.5 hours or more depending on where you start and how fast you walk (and how many pictures you stop to take!). We took our time on the way there and took a million pictures, but booked it on the way back. There are swingbridges and rushing turquoise rivers and snow-capped mountain peaks.

hooker valley trail

There’s this view straight out of Lord of the Rings.

hooker valley river

And this insanely green-colored water.

hooker lake whiskey

All leading up to this view of Hooker Valley Lake, with the Mueller Glacier. We brought some good ol’ Jim Beam with us and poured it over the 300-year-old glacier ice for a lovely lakeside cocktail.

jess sarai hot springs

The next morning we soaked in the hot springs pools with a gorgeous view to warm up and relax after the prior day’s crazy hiking. I think the boys are creeping in the background here.

mt john coffee

mt john view

Then got ready to hit the road back to Christchurch with a coffee and a view at Mt. John Observatory.

On to Nelson!

1 Comment CATEGORIES // Food-Related Miscellany, Travel and Food

« Food Travel Postcard: Nelson/Tasman Region, New Zealand
Balsamic Pasta with Toasted Garlic & Pine Nuts »

Comments

  1. Carole says

    October 12, 2014 at 3:25 pm

    So glad you are having a good time down South. Lovely pics. There are lots of artistic types in Nelson – I think you’ll enjoy it there. Cheers from Carole’s Chatter

    PS it should get warmer as you head North – it is still only early Spring!

    Reply

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Welcome to my little corner of the internet! I created this blog for people who love cooking & baking but are challenged to find the time and energy to do it. Recipes run the gamut from super healthy to indulgent, but the focus is on using REAL food no matter what.

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