The day didn’t start of exactly as we had planned.Saunil suddenly got up and it was 9:45,we had set an alarm for 7:30 .Our check out time was 10:30 so hurriedly took a shower,took a few pics of the room and checked out at 10:15,good job for tat!After the check out we went to relish the complimentary breakfast tat the hotel had to offer,we were the last of the ppl before they would close for breakfast.We had tea,pancakes,cereals,fruits,beans.We clicked a few more pics of the beautiful surroundings of the hotel and left for the city centre in the complimentary hotel shuttle for the punt ride.The punt ride is similar to the gondola ride on the Avon river which runs across the city except tat the punters don’t sing songs but they explain the historical monuments and the history of the city.Our punter was a handsome,sweet guy who had traveled to Mumbai and the southern part of India.We had a nice time talking about how he loved India and how we are liking our stay in New Zealand so far.Here once again he inquired about the Henna tattoo on my hand and if we were on our honeymoon.He was like the nth person who asked us if we were on our honeymoon,felt good though :-).The punt(boat) ride was very calm,relaxing and pretty.I loved Christchurch,with pretty gardens,ancient historical monuments.The cathedral square was the most lively,active place in the city.We also bought a Christchurch magnet souvenier.On our way back to the hotel,we went to the botanical garden.We clicked lots of pics at the central rose garden,wonderful blooms of roses of all colors!! Very nicely maintained garden.We started off for lake tekapo at around 12:30.One distinct thing about the driving here is the roundabout(round way) you come across and the 1st,2nd exit you take on it.Within the city the speed is around 35 km/hr and 50km/hr on the highway,unique thing about these highways are most of them are single lane,they don’t need multi lane highways so..The drive to Tekapo took us thru the beautiful,southern alps with sheeps,cows grazing all around.Lonely planet book says that the sheep to man ratio in NZ is 9:1 and tats wat we saw!!!To top it all the road had beautiful purple and blue flowers called “lupins” on either side.We could see even more of them along the way.We reached our stay for the night at Lake Tekapo called the “Moonlight Bed and Breakfast” Bed and Breakfast.B&B is a very attractive accommodation option in NZ.It usually is a family home with a room or two rented out for visitors.It also gives an opportunity to interact with the host and get tips for things to do in that area.Our host at moonlight was Marianne.She welcomed us to her beautiful home and then quickly escorted us to our room called “Sol”.It was a beautiful ensuite room at the west end of the house with a big window opening into the mini garden/nursery.It had cute patio outside with pleasant surroundings.After a short nap and refreshing ourselves we headed towards the famous “Church of the Sheperd” at 5pm.
The view of the lake from there was beautiful and mesmerizing.As usual we took a lot of pics with the scenic backdrop of Lake tekapo and southern alps,lupins were all around to make it even more beautiful.We took a small walk along the lakeshore and then saw a statue of a dog.It was built in memory of the dogs which helped to explore this area.From there we went to see the small town centre.Ami wanted to have her favourite chai tea latte.We also wanted to try a local dessert called “Mice” mainly made of chocolate.We quickly chose a small bench at the Lakeshore.Meanwhile Ami was very excited to have the small “mice” that she bought.After calling back home Saunil was interested in finding more info on the stargazing tours that Tekapo is very famous for.We booked a stargazing tour for 10:30pm that night.We were very excited for this tour.After enjoying a filling dinner at the Thai restaurant we headed back to our room.The stargazing tour was highly dependent on the sky being clear and we were waiting in anticipation that we do get a chance to go for this tour.The tour was called “Cowan hill tour” and it included a bus ride to a top of the hill with a renowned astronomer.The tour started at 10:30pm and we were all dressed in warm clothes.When we reached the top of the hill it was still not completely dark and so couldn’t see most of the stars.The astronomer first showed us the Planet Jupiter and some other famous constellations such as cross,dog,bull etc.He used a laser pointer to show us the different constellations.As time passed it became dark,windy and the sky was full of stars.It was a beautiful sight and it was told that Lake Tekapo has the best southern sky for viewing stars.After a while we were taken inside a big dome shaped room with a telescope for a closer view of the Milky way galaxy,Jupiter planet and its moon,some famous constellation and some other galaxies.At the end of it we had a lot knowledge about stars and felt like kids gazing at the extraordinary stars and galaxies.We returned back to our room at around 11:30pm and went to bed.
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