On the road again - part III

Saturday, April 19th

This morning we left Cromwell early, after having visited the charming old town which brought us back to the golden age of New Zealand, when people would come from all around the world to work in the gold mines. The first lights of the sun were with us while we were going through the devastated plains that lie east of the mountains. The road was empty as well. The wide and burnt landscape was amazing, and so quiet. In the distance we could see the mountains, which we finally approached later in the morning.

After the small town of Twizel where the field of the Pelennor were filmed, we turned left towards the highest peak of the country : Mt Cook. For one hour we drove along lake Pukaki in direction of the mountains, and we stopped halfway to contemplate the scenery. I think it was one of the widest places I have ever seen, and probably the emptiest : not a single house could be seen, and there was just one road, ending at the foot of the mountain. Unfortunately for us, Mt Cook was shy and decided to stay hidden in the mist and sent rainy clouds on us. We had to go back to Twizel without seeing him.

An hour ago, we arrived at lake Tekapo under a blue sky partially filled with dark clouds. We spent a whole hour on the edge of the water, watching the light coming from the dying sun in the clouds. It was making the scenery so dramatic ! We are now having a well deserved coffee not far from there, and relaxing before another long day of adventures.

Sunday, April 20th

We woke up in the middle of the pine plantation where we had parked yesterday, and no one had come to disturb us, it was a quiet night. After a quick breakfast, we headed towards the lake again, and hiked till the top of Mt John, a big rocky hill on the western shore of the lake. The view from up there was majestic. We could see the blue lake, the yellow emptiness of the shrubby plains and the snowy top of the mountains. The village seemed so small ! It made me think of Spain, of Castilla, the region where part of my family came from.

We then headed for Geraldine, a medium sized town in the middle of the Canterbury plains. We went through a green country, turning more and more hilly as we were going further. We passed through a lot of different villages, cut from the rest of the world, where life seemed easy and disconnected from the global problems. In the end of the afternoon, we arrived is sight of the Banks peninsula, south of Christchurch. Once on the "island", we took a mountain road which took us through the steep valley of the former French part of New Zealand, where sheep were grazing among the trees. We spent our evening discovering Akaroa, the capital of the region, and talking in a small pub "à la française". I'm so much looking forward to tomorrow !

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Antes de leerte, estuve mirando las fotos.Mi primera impresión fue de pensar en el monte de Lucillo.Después, leí los textos y me di cuenta de que pensaste lo mismo al descubrir aquel paisaje.