Don’t settle. Go experience it all.
Media – Round 3
All The Colors (3/10/23) – Photos
All The Colors (3/10/23) – Video
3/10/23 @ 10:30pm – Lake Ohau Lodge, Lake Ohau, NZ
All trip photo albums
Trip video playlist
Mr. Seamon-Ingalls:
It turns out that the phones in our rooms did have quite the capability to wake us up, so by shortly after 5:30am everyone was up and ready to face the day. Mostly. But, everyone did sleep well and by 6:15am we were back in the dining area devouring another round of breakfast at Pavilions. Since everyone had packed up the night before, we were able to easily check out and transfer all of our stuff to Bob’s bus which was waiting for us out on the street. By 7am we were on the road, headed south west.
Bob gave us some information as the sun rose and then most of us slept after taking in lots of the vast farmland and growing mountains. At around 9am we stopped to pick up our bag lunches and to stretch our legs and then back on the bus we continued SW, with Bob telling us more about our very impressive surroundings. We crossed rivers, drove along the edges of great lakes, and then turned north towards Aoraki/Mount Cook.
We arrived at the start of the track (hiking path) at Noon, a spot called White Horse Hill Campsite. We ate our lunches out on the grass in full view of the spanning mountains, snow, and glacier! The bright and warm weather had everyone in good spirits as we prepped to start our hike. At 1pm we set out on the trail, taking in the lush environment with every step. We walked through rough fields, across rushing glacial rivers, and on wooden pathways. The bright sun and clear skies gave us a great view of the mountains, and the cool breeze as well as spray from the rivers kept us refreshed.
We made it to the end of the 5km path where we were greeted by the sight of a glacial lake with small ice bergs, right underneath Aoraki. We could just make out the top of the epic mountain. The kids went down to the edge of the lake and others explored higher ground. We took a bunch of photos and then turned back to make the return trip. The weather held and the return trip went smoothly. By about 4pm we were back on the bus.
We were again treated to epic views on our 2 hour drive to the Lake Ohau lodge. We were also quite tired so many of us took the opportunity to sleep. At 6pm we rolled into the parking lot at the Lodge where the owner came on board to tell us about our accommodations as well as dinner. It turns out the lodge is a base for all sorts of travelers and adventurers. Mountain bikes are all over, and there is a big camp site area out back. The place is rustic but very well managed and comfortable.
At 7 we ate dinner in the lively dining hall. The food was delicious and the conversations in our group energetic. We were excited after a full day of sparkling activity. After downing salmon, venison, or in my case a very tasty tofu pesto and mushroom dish, the kids had a bit of free time before an optional gathering at 9:30 to gaze at the stars. Outside we enjoyed the night sky and each other’s company.
We covered lots of amazing ground and the group achieved new levels of cohesion. Success.