Day 7, Christchurch and Lake Tekapo

On the sixth day it was time to get up in the morning and do a little laundry, we packed what seemed like a lot considering how many places we had moved in and out of in 5 days, but when we got right down to it, some clean clothes were going to make the rest of the trip a lot better. So I jumped out of bed in the morning and used the free washer, and it was only $2NZ to use the dryer, and then we made our way to the Christchurch Gondola. The GPS got us a little lost on the way, but eventually we made it. Of course they had a cafe up there, so we started with some breakfast and took in the views. The beach just seems to go on forever.

Next we went to downtown and paid a visit to the i-site, where we arranged our stay for the night. Then we jumped on the Tram that takes a guided tour of the downtown area. We regretted not having more time to jump on and off the tram (add it to the list for next time). We checked out the cathedral (which of course has a cafe) How much more would I go to church if there were an attached espresso bar? And then we found some food vendors in the square, One guy was selling delicious fully loaded baked potatoes, and someone else was selling the tastiest spicy bratwurst. After that stop for a snack, and a can of Lift and we were on our way to the next stop on our journey, Lake Tekapo. We did make one little stop on our way, when quite by accident we bumped into the Trocadero Bakery. I badly regret not ordering a second éclair, the cream in the one I ordered was smoother than anything you've ever put in your mouth.
Lake Tekapo is the most beautiful color blue you've ever seen, because glacial ice grinds down the rocks into the tiniest pieces that stay suspended in the lake water. On calm clear days it perfectly reflects the surrounding mountains, but as you can see we were not there on a calm clear day. A thunderstorm eventually chased us away to our hotel, the Godley Resort where we had a mostly unobstructed view of the lake and the mountains and a patio facing the lake. Too bad it was frigid. We took a look at the food that was available and settled on the hotel restaurant staffed by one energetic girl who was hostess bartender server and bus person. I had a wonderful piece of salmon raised nearby in a glacial lake and W enjoyed the most tender roasted lamb you can imagine. By this time in the trip I'd learned to order coffee with dinner, especially If I'd had a drink, if I wanted to stay awake for longer than ten minutes after we got back to the room, I think my flat white wasn't strong enough on this day and I crashed hard.