What To Do In Lake Tekapo, New Zealand’s Most Beautiful Town

Lake Tekapo was our second destination during a road trip around New Zealand’s south island, and it blew me away. The scenery, the tranquility and the sleepy vibe make Tekapo a must-visit destination for anyone looking to get away from it all.

Things to do in Lake Tekapo

Getting there

Fully recovered from jet lag and raring to get out in the wilderness, we took a four hour bus from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo. I was a little worse for wear, having stayed up the night before drinking and listening to people at our hostel play guitar, so I was glad when we stopped in a quiet town to stretch our legs. We sat sipping coffee on a bench under a tree. Unbeknownst to us, the hedge behind us lined railway tracks and the locals got a laugh at our screams when a passing train blew its horn behind us.

Bus travel is definitely the easiest way to see New Zealand – the distances aren’t too exhausting, the scenery is priceless, and we had bought multiple tickets on GrabOne (the NZ version of Groupon), so we were traveling on the cheap (and feeling very smug about it). C flirted with Jan, our butch driver, but my eyes were glued to the windows. We passed fields full of grazing deer, pigs, sheep, cows, a salmon farm, a country quilt store (who buys these things?) and a sign that said, “You’re a long time dead, So what’s the rush?” Ominous.

New Zealand’s most stunning destination?

New Zealand may have been the first destination to inspire my ongoing love affair with the world, and Lake Tekapo is still one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Snow capped mountains are reflected in the bluest water imaginable. The lake’s piercing blue colour comes from ‘rock flour’ – fine dust particles ground by glaciers which are suspended in the water and, in combination with the sunlight, create Lake Tekapo’s unique hue. Gorgeous.

From the sublime to the haggard. C and I could have been mistaken for 20-something versions of Patsy and Eddie from Ab Fab – swearing like troopers as we cautiously navigated the icy path, our backpacks balanced precariously on our skinny little backs. When we finally located our hostel, Lake Front Backpackers, it was a pleasant relief – it was clean, had real log fires, and there was nobody else in our 4 bed dorm!

The snow on the pebbled shore didn’t deter us from achieving that perfect shot. We legged it down to the water edge, stripped off for some pictures, then I took a dip. The water was around 8 degrees; warmer than the freezing cold air that whipped me. Don’t worry, we kept our woolly hats on.

Of the 318 people who populate Lake Tekapo, I hope some of them spotted us and we made their day.

Hiking in Lake Tekapo

After our horseplay on the beach we quickly dressed and hiked up Mount John’s Walkway to the South Summit.  Even from halfway up the view was stunning, but the 360 perspective from the peak was truly breathtaking. There are more intense routes for keen hikers, but our climb showed how out of shape we were. We got very excited about how toned we would be after all our outdoor adventures. If only all those post-activity pints we indulged in were calorie free…

Full make up and nobody around to impress

It is so nice to get out in nature, really get away from it all, then take photos of ourselves getting away from it all and put them on facebook so everyone knows how free we are.

Tekapo’s thermal pools

After our hike we soothed our muscles in the Hot Pools. It was surreal to be immersed in hot water and surrounded by snow capped mountains while the sky darkened. Not so amazing when a Kiwi boy with the worst banter ever tried to chat us up. It felt equally great to fall in to bed (not with the boy) after a long day in the fresh New Zealand air after sampling Monteith’s Golden Lager and the clearest crushed apple cider I have ever seen, while we practiced our Kiwi accents.

On our second day, we skimmed stones on the Lake then went back to the Hot Pools, which make you feel so sleepy! C skated and I slipped on the ice rink for a while, then we headed back to the hostel. The walk back past log cabins was unlit and terrifying, but looking up at the stars numbed our fear. New Zealand is so much less built up than anywhere I’ve ever been before; the stars don’t have to compete for space to shine so constellations are easy to pick out.

READ: The Whitsunday Islands are unbeatable for stargazing.

Skimming stones. Photograph by Caoilfhionn Maguire

Walks around Tekapo

Next day, we walked out to the Church of the Good Shephard and picked apples off a tree, made wishes at the well, then played on a zip line next to the Lake until it was time to get back on the bus. I can’t think of a more idyllic day.

Breathtaking in every way, my mind will always return to Tekapo when I need to picture myself in a peaceful place.

Find accommodation in Lake Tekapo

Next stop Wanaka!

Tekapo was just the start of my adventures in New Zealand and beyond. Like my facebook page and follow me on twitter and Instagram to keep up!

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