The Canterbury High Country is all about mountains and lakes. Two lakes especially. The first one is Lake Tekapo, surrounded by snowcapped mountains all around.

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At sunset:

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For better views on lake and mountain take the peninsula track and enjoy 2 hours of beauty. nat-NZ-canterbury-lake_tekapo_peninsula_track-4

White cliffs near peninsula track:

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And for even better views, up to Mt. John Observatory - a perfect place for lunch.

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The second famous lake is Lake Pukaki, here with Mt. Cook in the background:

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What can you do when the weather just keeps being awesome? More walks like the Hooker Valley Track near Mt. Cook, which features some fantasic views on ice and mountains:

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And another walk to see the Tasman Glacier closer than from the official viewpoint. As it turns out a glacier is quite a dirty thing:

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The next day the weather changed completely, the blue sky gone and heavy rain pouring down. So just a quick excursion to the official Tasman glacier viewpoint. Well the edge is barely visible:

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