Te Araroa Trail Lake Tekapo Zero day
Today was my final day off Te Araroa trail, for a while and I’m itching to get back!! I walked to the post office to pick up my food parcel for the next 10 days, then I re-packaged half of it to send to Wanaka (my next major stop in 4 or 5 days time). I noticed today that Tekapo village has got a huge rabbit problem along the lakefront! You can smell them before you see them, and I probably saw at least 20 on my way into the village.
Tekapo Hot Pools
I spent the late morning in the Tekapo Spring hot pools. It was really quite pricey at $27 but the only thing to do in Tekapo on a rainy day. All the holidaymakers in the village were there too, so they made a killing today. The pools are nice – not natural hot pools, but the first I’ve had in about a year. Despite the price I’d recommend a soak if you’re a Te Araroa walker. I hired togs and a towel too, as I felt my normal Te Araroa trail togs (undies) wouldn’t cut it on this occasion. I had a fantastic cheese toasted sandwich and hot cholocate from their cafe.
Cycling to lake Ohau
I met Wayne from Alps to Ocean Tours bike hire for a coffee afterwards. He’d been waiting for some other Te Araroa trail hikers to contact him re. bike hire, but unfortunately the had made other pland. This meant I’d be a party of 1, so he recommended I hire my bike from Cycle Journeys instead who have a regular service for solos or groups. I called them and booked my bike to Lake Ohau. This saves a two to three day walk along pretty straight canals.
I’ll be cycling part of the Alps2Ocean cycle trail, which I believe is also part of the New Zealand Cycle Trail, so if I ever decide to cycle the length of our beautiful nation I’ll have already knocked off about 90kms.
When I got back to the hostel I checked into my dorm (indoors, tonight not in a tent) and spent the afternoon re-reading the next set of trail notes. It didn’t stop raining all day today! As a result the Lakefront Lodge Backpackers hostel was incredibly busy! I had to wrestle about 30 others in the small kitchen to cook dinner. Luckily I’d finished mine by the time the water went off in the village of Tekapo – Oops!