BLOG POST 26
We reached Blenheim the most populous town in Marlborough, in north east of South Island. It has an urban population of 31,300 and is well known for its wine industry. It has one of New Zealand's sunniest climates, with hot, relatively dry summers and cool, crisp winters .
We rested in Scenic hotel fitfully and started next day at 8 am for Christchurch ,we braced ourselves hard as we were going to travel a long way that day .
Though there was a very beautiful road between Blenheim and Christchurch, due to damage to the road between Kaikoura and Blenheim,in earth quake on 14th November in 2016, this road was currently closed. We had to take the road which passes through Lewis Pass through St Arnaud Murchison and Hammer Springs . This would take us approximately 6 to 7 hours to cover the 450 kms distance
As the bus wove its way along the road, the hills began to fade away and open plains slowly opened up before us. We could see Pony farms and cherry fields with road side cherry stands, roads were gracefully unfolding garlanded by huge expanses of vineyards
We soon saw the alpine village of St Arnaud sitting prettily on the edge of Lake Rotoiti against a stunning backdrop of mountains. It was known as the perfect base for exploring the Nelson Lakes National Park, New Zealand's second-largest national park..
Lake Rotoiti , previously also known as Lake Arthur, is a lake in the Tasman Region of New Zealand. It is a substantial mountain lake within the borders of Nelson Lakes National Park. The lake is fed by the Travers River, water from the lake flows into the Buller river. The lake is surrounded by Beech forest and is 82 metres deep.
The first European to see the lake was John Sylvanus Cotterell on 18 January 1843. Thomas Brunner and Charles Heaphy reached the lake in November 1843, and Heaphy named it Lake Arthur after Captain Arthur Wakefield, but the Maori name remained.
Our bus stopped very near the lake side and we all got down,we immediately were surrounded by ducks both small and big ones
It was such a pristine setting that it was stunning, the highlight was the view over the lake towards the snow covered and the fiery wild mountains. The lake was like a mirror, we could take beautiful and stunning photos of the scenery.
When we stepped towards jetty,we saw big eels swimming around the jetty.These eels which are endangered species were huge in size and almost resembling big snakes ,they were lazily swimming around in the region of the jetty as if they were posing for a photo shoot ,we were told that we could feed them steaks but were to be careful of our fingers as they would be snipped off if we were nor alert
Tramping tracks circled the lake, including the Lakehead track on the east side and the Lakeside track on the west side. There was a water taxi service that traveled the length of the lake ferrying tourists to and from the Coldwater and Lakehead huts at the head of the lake which has a lovely waterfall. Hamish the operator was famous for showing willing tourists details of the lake and even the remote places
Though we didn’t go we were told that the view was very beautiful at the head of the lake
Apart from the eels, trout were found which were introduced to attract recreational fishermen
As we were alerted before visiting the lake we applied some cream for sand flies because they were plenty at the lake side
The lake offered amazing opportunities for swimming, boating, rowing, paddle-boarding.
There was a nip in the air, glamour and a romantic ,healing and mesmerising effect on the mind, soul and body.
As it often happens with us, whenever we visit a beautiful place I yearningly tell my practical husband how I wish we could stay here for ever and would get a scathing look from him in return,LOL !
Leaving behind the beautiful lake we sped through the road ,we saw the enchanting beech Maruia Forest and the scenic Lewis Pass.We continued south to the Garden City of Christchurch ,though the journey was tedious our ever cheerful Tony entertained us with lot of Irish Jokes and constant flow of lollies
We reached Blenheim the most populous town in Marlborough, in north east of South Island. It has an urban population of 31,300 and is well known for its wine industry. It has one of New Zealand's sunniest climates, with hot, relatively dry summers and cool, crisp winters .
We rested in Scenic hotel fitfully and started next day at 8 am for Christchurch ,we braced ourselves hard as we were going to travel a long way that day .
Our bus stopped very near the lake side and we all got down,we immediately were surrounded by ducks both small and big ones
Apart from the eels, trout were found which were introduced to attract recreational fishermen
As we were alerted before visiting the lake we applied some cream for sand flies because they were plenty at the lake side
The lake offered amazing opportunities for swimming, boating, rowing, paddle-boarding.
There was a nip in the air, glamour and a romantic ,healing and mesmerising effect on the mind, soul and body.
As it often happens with us, whenever we visit a beautiful place I yearningly tell my practical husband how I wish we could stay here for ever and would get a scathing look from him in return,LOL !
Leaving behind the beautiful lake we sped through the road ,we saw the enchanting beech Maruia Forest and the scenic Lewis Pass.We continued south to the Garden City of Christchurch ,though the journey was tedious our ever cheerful Tony entertained us with lot of Irish Jokes and constant flow of lollies
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