Lake Tekapo

A small stone church of 1935 whose window behind the altar faces the lake. The rules on photography are strict, and cameras stay away inside.

The hilltop observatory turns telescopes on the southern sky after dark. Lighting rules apply, and even car headlights carry a red filter up there.

From late November into December purple and pink lupins take the lakeshore. They are an introduced plant and a problem for the ecology, so their spread is being held back.

Heated pools face the water at three different temperatures. On a winter night the stars show through the steam.

Forty minutes away a larger turquoise lake ends with the highest peak standing at its head. Only on a cloudless day does that mountain show above the water.

Below the 3724m summit, a valley walk leads to a glacier lake. The Hooker Valley route crosses three swing bridges and takes about 180 minutes.

The whole district is designated an international dark sky reserve. Street lights are hooded so that none of the light escapes upward.

The water comes off a glacier and sits around ten degrees even in summer. A drysuit is hired for it, and a capsize means going straight back in.

A small plane circles the ice and some flights land on the snow. Weather cancels them often, so the schedule needs room.

A gravel road follows the hydro canals across the basin. The water runs cold, and a salmon farm sits along the way.

A bronze collie on the lakeshore beside the Church of the Good Shepherd. Mackenzie runholders put it up in 1968 to thank the dogs that worked their flocks. Many visitors see only the church and miss it, so walk a few steps further towards the water.

As the Tasman, the country's longest glacier, melted back, a lake formed at its snout from the 1970s. A climb up the moraine from the car park looks down on icebergs in grey water. The path passes the Blue Lakes, which these days are green.

A small lake over the hill west of Lake Tekapo, with only a few anglers' huts on its shore. No glacial flour reaches it, so it looks dark and glassy rather than Tekapo's milky turquoise. The road in is gravel, so check whether your rental terms allow it.

A cycle trail from the foot of Aoraki down to Oamaru by the Pacific, the longest continuous ride in the country. The stretch around Lake Ohau runs with snow-capped ranges beyond the water. Towns are few for long stretches, so load plenty of water and food.

Gravel cliffs on a farm near Omarama, eroded by rain into ranks of sharp earth spires. It is private land, so drop the entry fee into the honesty box at the gate. Go as the sun drops and the cliffs turn orange.

A museum inside the Hermitage hotel in Aoraki village, telling how Edmund Hillary, first up Everest, trained on these peaks. A domed theatre projects stars and mountains overhead. Save it for when cloud shuts the mountain.