Our Lake Tekapo weekend trek, via Geraldine, Fairlie & Burkes Pass, was about 3 hour's drive. We stopped at Dog Kennel Corner to look at roadside lupins. On all our trips to Mt Cook we'd never seen so many miles of roadside lupins in all their pinks, purples & creams. The contrast between blooming lupins & dry, brown Mackenzie Country was stark. Although hot, high summer, snow still speckled Alpine ranges.
06.12.13. Roadside lupins, Dog Kennel Dog Corner near Lake Tekapo. Mackenzie Country & Ben Ohau Range, Southern Alps beyond
Roadworks went on by the Lake Tekapo Canal turnoff to the Salmon Farm in Tekapo Canal, so we gave the Salmon Farm a miss. On previous trips, we'd visited the Salmon Farm & fished for salmon in Tekapo Canal, which carried Lake Tekapo waters from Lake Tekapo A hydroelectric power station to Tekapo B hydroelectric power station at Lake Pukaki, about 40 kms away.
Thereafter canals in the vast Waitaki Valley carried Alpine lake waters to Ohau A, B & C power stations, then dropped Alpine waters to Benmore, Aviemore & Waitaki power stations, a total of 8 power stations in Mackenzie Country supplying NZ electricity. Lake Tekapo had started off as a hydroelectric village in the 1950s, so too Twizel along SH8 nearer Lake Pukaki & Mt Cook.
My last fishing trip with Luke to Mackenzie Country was 10 years before, then he became a teenager & found other interests besides trout fishing & salmon lures.
06.12.13. Some Lake Tekapo shops
As it was high tourist season, tourist buses piling into Lake Tekapo carpark by the shops, accommodation at Lake Tekapo was scarce. In 1994, when I did my LSD - Look-See-Decide trip, in a hired 1000cc Suzuki, I'd slept in my car at Lake Tekapo shops carpark. Tourism was as busy then as it was now in 2013.
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo campsite office
06.12.13. Mt John seen from Lake Tekapo campsite
06.12.13. Mt John seen from Lake Tekapo village
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo, Southern Alps. Two Thumbs Range beyond, incl Mt Richmond, Mt Ardmore, Mt Hay
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Two Thumbs Range incl l to r: Mt Ardmore, Mt Dobson, Tekapo Saddle, Mt Maud, Mt Edward
06.12.13. Lupins, Lake Tekapo, Southern Alps
06.12.13. Kayaks, Lake Tekapo, Southern Alps
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Mt Maud left, Mt Edward right
We hired a cabin at the campsite & wandered Lake Tekapo shore, looking at yellow kayaks for hire in turquoise waters. I looked at nearby Mt John & resolved to climb to the Observatory & Cafe on top during my next Lake Tekapo trip. Lake Tekapo was famous for its turquoise lake, pristine Alpine scenery & clear night skies. Mt John was the perfect place for astrophotography at the Observatory headed by Canterbury University.
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo holiday house, Aorangi Cr. 2018. A cottage would be built below the house
06.12.13. Holiday house, Aorangi Cres view, Lake Tekapo, Two Thumbs Range, Southern Alps
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Mt Maud left, Mt Edward right
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Mt Dobson left, Tekapo Saddle middle, Mt Maud right
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Mt Ardmore left, Mt Dobson right
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view. Two Thumbs Range. Mt Gerald below. Motuariki Island right
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Mt Chevalier, Mt Ross, Mt Ajax
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Two Thumbs Range, Mt Richmond right
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Mt Richmond left, Mt Ardmore right, Mt Hay below
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo view, Mt John left, Two Thumbs Range right
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo School backdropped by Mt Ardmore left, Mt Dobson middle, Tekapo Saddle, Mt Maud right
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo housing seen from Lake Tekapo School
Early afternoon, we looked at old & new Lake Tekapo village. Leah was interested in Lake Tekapo School, Aorangi Cres, which had magnificent views over Lake Tekapo & Southern Alps.
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo School, Aorangi Cr
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo School view, Lake Tekapo, Southern Alps
06.12.13. Lake Tekapo School view, Lake Tekapo, Southern Alps
Late afternoon, I drove to Lake Pukaki lookout with its views over the lake to Mt Cook & Alpine ranges. Since we'd last passed that way, beside the Info Centre, a new Salmon Farm shop was built, so Leah splashed out on a pack of smoked salmon (tourist price $16) which we scoffed, while watching clouds descend over Mt Cook. While we picnicked, the wind came up over Lake Pukaki, ruffling the waters & disturbing a flock of floating seagulls fishing in the lake. Seagulls in Mackenzie Country, far from the coast.
Since our last visit, a bronze statue of a Himalayan tahr had been erected lakeside. An info board gave the history of the Himalayan tahr in NZ, its pest status & culling by hunters.
06.12.13. Himalayan tahr statue, Lake Pukaki, Mackenzie Country. Southern Alps beyond
06.12.13. Roadside lupins near Lake Pukaki, Mackenzie Country. Southern Alps beyond
Sat 07.12.13. We visited Church of the Good Shepherd overlooking Lake Tekapo. A bus load of Asian tourists enjoyed the church & the bronze Sheep Dog Statue, celebrating high country sheep dogs.
07.12.13. Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo, Mackenzie Country
07.12.13. Sheep Dog statue, Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo, Mackenzie Country
A bronze plaque below the statue read:
This monument was erected by the runholders of the Mackenzie County and those who also appreciate the value of the collie dog, without the help of which the grazing of this mountain country would be impossible...
On a hot, blustery nor'wester afternoon, we returned to Christchurch via a paddle to cool off at Caroline Bay near Timaru's harbour.
Straight along Canterbury Plains, boring SH1, from Timaru to Christchurch, was relieved by a pit stop at Rakaia, where a Salmon Farm cafe & aquarium was built to trap tourists & thirsty travellers. As always, I vowed never again to drive that hot, boring stretch & instead vowed to drive Thompsons Track from Rakaia to Geraldine, or the tourist, scenic route via Alpine foothills, Geraldine & Darfield.
Despite cops threatening in the media to speed trap at a 104 km/hr maximum, there wasn't a speed cop in sight. While I drove a steady 90 km/hr through heat mirages, most vehicles, including horse floats & trucks, whizzed past, exceeding 100 km/hr.
..................................
Post Lake Tekapo weekend, Quake Reckoning focus:
Monday 09.12.13. Mandela was dead. We'd left SA as we didn't want our sons to grow up in SA hatred, which hadn't abated under post apartheid ANC misrule. We now witnessed the spectacle of NZ politicians PM Key, Maori Sharples & 1981 Springbok rugby tour protester Minto & other hacks, squabbling as to who should go to Mandela's memorial junket in Soweto. (OneNews).
Hypocrisy of NZ 1981 Springbok rugby tour protesters: Post 1981 they were happy to accept 1 000s of SA immigrants. It was SA immigrants' money they coveted to prop up NZ's economy & to inflate NZ's housing market. (There were imported Nederburg wines too, superior to NZ & Aussie plonk). NZ protesters savoured their 1981 can of worms, but during our 19 years' NZ residence so far, I'd never encountered any protests about SA immigrants.
Despite Mandela's memorial junket, Minto hadn't protested NZ National govt's authoritarianism in Christchurch over the last 3 quake years:
-Increasing CERA bureaucracy on Christchurch red zone CBD gravy train.
-NZ National govt's biggest disaster was housing. After quakes, state & Council housing was closed & boarded up, tenants dumped elsewhere. There were many such boarded housing in Sumner, New Brighton, CBD, Avonside... where I'd trekked, taking pics.
Since the quakes I'd seen many homeless people in caravans, vehicles & tents by quake destroyed housing. I still regularly saw a homeless, pony-tailed man seated on a bench in Hagley Park Nth, staring across Avon River to Salisbury St & quake & CERA ravaged CBD. I regularly trekked past a bald, Asian man, homeless with suitcase, plastic bags & open newspaper on a park bench near Fendalton School. Yesterday I saw a homeless bloke sleeping in his van on Woodford Tce, Fendalton! His van wasn't a tourist van.
-Demolition of property rights by NZ National govt's / CERA's red zoning 1 000s of residential properties along riversides & on the Port Hills & scores of commercial properties in the CBD Frame, with the threat of taking should property owners not comply. A few housing developments on Christchurch fringes had so far failed to replace red zone housing which CERA demolished. Then there were 1 000s of quake damaged houses still needing repairs or rebuilds.
The Press December 12 reported:
Three factors were "hammering" Christchurch's housing market:
-The 14 000 homes that had been lost overall in quakes.
-The 60 000 homes that had been damaged to the point where they needed to be vacated for repairs.
-30 000 workers flooding the city for the rebuild.
In April 2012 CERA minister Brownlee had denied there was a housing crisis & believed the housing market would solve housing problems. PM Key had supported Brownlee in June 2012. Due to red zone reduced housing supply, all the housing market did was inflate with increasingly expensive housing & rentals. So far our rent had increased twice since the quakes due to rates & insurance increases.
Recently in 2013 Brownlee flip-flopped with a LURP, Land Use Recovery Plan, wanting to create high density housing in Christchurch.
In 2012 MOE, without properly consulting Christchurch schools, used the quakes as an excuse to rationalize schools with closures & mergers. Never mind LURP which wasn't concocted yet. Although Brownlee desired LURP high density housing in his Ilam electorate off Wairakei Rd, MOE had already closed perfectly good Kendal School, off Wairakei Rd. That farce between MOE & LURP would continue all over Christchurch.
-Crown insurers, EQC's & Southern Response's slow, low ball repair or rebuild offers on housing & commercial properties. Commercial insurers just followed those slow, seedy examples to harass property owners with slow, low ball offers.
CERA's Greater Christchurch Recovery Update, Issue 28, Dec 2013, reported the Insurance Council of NZ Update, regarding Canterbury residential insurance claims:
Out of 24 660 overcap residential properties, 10 000 (41%) claims had been resolved. It had taken 3 years to resolve only 10 000 (41%) claims, dooming home owners to endure apartheid conditions.
Worse, the Insurance Council reported that after 3 quake years, a total of 11 250 (46%) claims had resolution in progress, ie - delays:
This means that a resolution has been agreed with the customer and they're in the repair or rebuild queue or are awaiting their cash settlement or house reinstatement.
The Insurance Council reported that 3 420 (13%) claims were unsettled after 3 years! No wonder irate home owners hammered Southern Response gates, while CERA did nothing about slack insurers.
-Separate development of posh suburbs like Fendalton & poorer suburbs like New Brighton. Although Council had plans for renewal of suburban shopping centres like at Redcliffs, Linwood, Sydenham, so far few rebuilds or new builds had happened after demolitions: just weedy demolition sites scarring suburbia, where many shops had once stood.
-CCDU's Blueprint loss-makers in the CERA demolished CBD, like a 35 000 seater, covered Stadium, Convention Centre / Te Pae, Metro Sports Facility... covering vast tracts of CERA taken, CBD land.
-CERA usurpation of Council functions & staff, like SCIRT, like 2 town clerks: CERA's Isaacs & Council's Marryatt (now resigned). Expensive duplications of Council functions.
-Unelected Crown manager sniffing out Christchurch Council communications, or presently an unelected Crown manager allegedly sorting out Council's bldg consents processing.
-Unelected Crown managers on ECAN, ensuring NZ National govt's pollution of Canterbury's pristine waters, in the form of irrigation for intensified stock farming.
Coda:
Over the next 6 years there would be increased housing & shopping developments at Lake Tekapo, like a new Youth Hostel, new supermarket, revamped Brashear Telescope at new Dark Sky observatory.
While housing developments continued, Lake Tekapo School would be demolished & rebuilt, reopened 2020.
See LURP, Land Use Recovery Plan (CERA).
See CERA jobs boost fits workload (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Subdivision all go under new plan (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Christmas fast track on house crisis (The Press / Stuff Co).
Christchurch people in dire need of homes (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Schools ready to say goodbye (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Rents out of reach (The Press-Stuff Co).
See Protesters swamp Southern Response (The Press / Stuff Co).
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
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