Day 21: Lavender and Lupins

I left you all last night to head off to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony. It was only a 10 minute walk from my campground, which made for a nice little walk there. On the way I saw one of the piers completely covered in birds - more birds than I had ever seen in one place! I think they were common murres, but Google and I could be wrong. Also, it's worth noting that this photo was taken at 8:30. There is no end of daylight here.

I wasn't able to take any photos at the colony but there's a video on the website if you're interested. The blue penguins were adorable and waddly as only penguins can be - but the creatures that stole my heart were the fur seals lounging right in their way. I think this trip has given me an unhealthy love of seals. They're so graceful in the water, but on land are just these big furry jelly beans, warming their belly and sleeping for hours. I want to be a seal in my next life. I managed to get within arms reach of one and it was glorious. And then it sneezed right on my face, so I may soon turn into some kind of seal hybrid superhero*.

This morning I got up and had breakfast at the cafe just down the road. It was, of course, steampunk-themed and I love this town's level of commitment to the schtick.

The main goal for the day was to reach Lake Pukaki to get a good view of Mt Cook. I was originally going to go to Mt Cook itself but was told that the view from the Lake was better, so that's where I went. First I stopped in at a nearby lavender farm. New Zealand Alpine Lavender is the largest farm of organic lavender in the southern hemisphere. I had seen photos online and thought it very pretty, but I really just wanted to know how it smelt to stand in the middle of so much lavender.

It smelled like lavender, funnily enough.

It really was lovely though, and I really did want to curl up and just take a nap.

For a while I sat and watched what I have called some 'Instagram girls'. You know the ones you see in pretty locations and they have big floppy hats and an 'outfit' and they're standing in the middle of a field like they're surprised you happened to come upon them in the middle of a big ol' whack of lavender in foothills of a massive snowcapped mountain. I sound mean-spirited, but that's not really my intent. I find the whole process fascinating and exhausting and I wish them (and the boyfriend inevitably stalking them with the camera) luck on their endeavours. As for me, I preferred to spend some time stalking bees instead.

Not my best bee shots, but I'm fairly happy with them.

I also had to try the lavender flavoured ice cream, which was delicious and I do recommend it.

After enjoying my floral dessert, I drove around the corner to Lake Pukaki. It doesn't matter how many times I see the blue of New Zealand's waters, I will never be over it. It was so bright and sparkling.

At Lake Pukaki they also had a shopfront for Mt Cook Alpine Salmon, the farm for which was just a few kilometres down the road. I bought some sashimi for lunch (because what goes better with lavender ice cream that raw alpine fish?) and it was the freshest, softest salmon I have ever eaten. Delicious. I enjoyed my lunch while starring off at Mt Cook which was putting on quite a show.

I've edited these photos to try to get a better look at Mt Cook, but truthfully, this bright blue one is the most accurate when it comes to the colour of the water. 

From here I drove onwards to the neighbouring lake, Lake Tekapo, and it was here that I had my only real disappointment of the entire trip. Lake Tekapo was one the reasons I had wanted to come to New Zealand initially. The beautiful blue lake surrounded by all those gorgeous coloured lupins... but it seems I had come just that bit too late because nearly every one of the lupins was gone and all that was left were rocks and dried grass.

It's not that Lake Tekapo isn't beautiful, and I was even going to go for a swim but couldn't find a bathroom to change, but it wasn't what I had my heart set on. A little down the road I did find an entire field of lupins, though even they were patchy in places, so I'm not sure what the problem was. Still, if that's the only thing to miss out on a trip, I can't very well complain.

On the final leg of the day, driving towards Mt Somers, I found myself in the middle of a calf parade, which was very entertaining, if extremely slow to extricate myself from.

And now, since I am in bed (oh I am so close to sleeping in an actual bed again) with access to unlimited wifi, I think I shall curl up and look at National Parks on Disney+. Goodnight all!


Animal sightings:

• cows
• sheep
• horses
• deer
• falcons
• stoats (I know they're a nuisance, but they're so so cute)
• rabbits
• goats

Today's Playlist:

• Do Go On #33: The Titanic!
• Do Go On #34: The Rumble in the Jungle
• Do Go On #35: The Green Children of Woolpit
• Lost at the Smithsonian: Fonzie's Jacket
• Lost at the Smithsonian: Dorothy's Ruby Slippers
• Reply All #21: Hack the Police
• Reply All #22 (Bonus): The Man Who Refused to Email
• Science Rules #23: The End of the World
• Unprompted and Unwanted #16

Daily Stats:
Kilometres travelled: 344km (4397km in total)
Number of lollies eaten while driving: 6 (never you mind how many in total)
Number of times I wished I had another doughnut from Queenstown: 2





*currently accepting superhero names submissions.