Lake Tekapo... MacKenzie Basin, New Zealand

After realizing that we weren't going to get a rental car in Christchurch, we scurried over to the "eye", the big giant italic "i" you can find in every town and city in New Zealand and Australia. This big "eye" represents the information centers (sites) that are unlike anything you'll ever find in the U.S. (the closet thing might be the concierge at a fancy hotel). At these centers, you can book a hotel, bus, train, or any activity in the country! Also, they are filled with brochures and maps and just about anything a tourist would need to get acquainted with the area/country. They are a godsend when you need help and/or need to book ahead.

After telling the gal helping us our dilemma in not finding a rental car, she made several suggestions and phone calls for our "change of plans." Within 15 min., we had a bus voucher, hotel voucher, Shotover jet boat voucher and--- Julie booked her trip to Doubtful Sound! We paid for everything right on the spot and spent the rest of the day in Christchurch having fun instead of searching the internet or making phone calls for bookings. If you ever travel to these 2 countries, rely on these wonderful wonderful helpful information centers.

So...
the next morning, we were picked up by taxi (prepaid at the info center) and taken to the the Christchurch bus station. We boarded our bus for our "new" trip to Lake Tekapo and Mt. Cook. Our plans for the West Coast were foiled, but we looked forward to a new unplanned adventure! Julie will have to come back to NZ to see the West Coast.

Our bus trip up through farmland and the foothills was nice. Listening to our iPods and watching the scenery unfold is an easy way to travel.

Lake Tekapo is a delightful alpine village in the heart of the South Island high country. It's a glacial-turquoise blue lake; carved out by huge glaciers during the Ice Age.

After checking into our hotel, we walked back to town for lunch and then had a nice walk near the lake by an old stone church. Although cloudy, it didn't start raining until we got back to our hotel for the evening.