Fairlie, Tekapo and into the Mountains

 We woke up at some point in Timaru and packed our stuff ready for the journey ahead. A quick paknsave shop, and bags around our feet due to lack of space, we headed off to Lake Tekapo.

The journey was reasonably uneventful other than the stupid remarks made from David regarding Pleasant Point and the pleasantness of the town. Everything was pleasant according to him, the train station, the petrol station and the golf course were all so pleasant. By the end of our very short drive through town we were sick of these remarks and they eventually stopped.

From here we headed to Fairlie for an early lunch and some shopping. We had heard of a place that catered to all and when we arrived the line was out the door. It was a renowned pie bakehouse and when we eventually got to the front of the queue where we found small and cold gluten free pies, we had one and were let down but Dad enjoyed his normal person award winning pie. The day was hot and mum made sure to carry the sunscreen so we were protected from the sun. After our delicious or not delicious pies we headed to another store to find a drink. We stopped at this very small store that turned out to sell crema (an ice cream like thing). Mum and Dad got coffee flavour, Logan got pistachio, and Jonty got an iced chocolate (BORING!!). Fairlie jokes were exchanged the entire duration of our stay and some of them were fairly good (hehe).

After this nice and enjoyable stop we headed off on the beautiful journey to Lake Tekapo. After a few stops here and there for photos we arrived at the church of the good shepherd. 

We planned to go to a service believed to be at four but the sign said 5 on the church door, so we had hours to kill as we arrived around one. We stopped for a bit when deciding what to do and we settled on the Cowans Hill walk. But Jonty had other plans, he threw a hissy fit because he was hungry (he didn’t eat a good breakfast) so we all had to stop until he was fed. During this process Dad and Logan headed to see if they could book a dark sky stargazing experience but these were all booked until January so the plans fell through. Finally every one was ready to walk and we headed off after deliberation on where to start. The walk was stunning with panoramic views as promised and everyone had a go with the camera. The descent was a little confusing but we eventually made it, only a few kilometers extra than expected.

As we were approaching our car we heard the church bells going off and we rushed to the entrance just in time for the service to start. As we initially thought, the service started at four. The service started with an introduction of the members and we heard people were from all over the world, South Korea, Fiji, and the UK, just to name a few. The service was very cool, more traditional than the boys were used to but Reverend Craig was cool, inviting, and shared a thought provoking message about the commitment of Mary and how we can let His will be done in our lives in the big and little things.

After the service we headed off to our accommodation where we settled quite nicely. The wifi is interesting and the television has an attitude leading to channel 2 being the only channel we can play. A quick trip to the town was in order as we needed groceries and only had 30 mins before the store closed. Mum decided to forget her wallet in the car and her good looking and always well prepared son (Logan) had to bail her out. Back at camp, a dinner of nachos were eaten before a very hot and squeaky bed sleep, ready for the action of the day ahead.