Mount Cook in the rain

At 2am I wake up to the sound of Maria coughing, at 2:30 I was woken up to the sound of Maria coughing, and at 3:30, 4 and 5.  She is not a well puppy.  Her cough sounds terrible,  I'm glade we are the only people on our floor as otherwise I am worried that someone might hear the noise and report me to the NZSPCA for performing un-natural acts on geese!  She seems to have caught the same sort of cold/virus I got at Kaikoura.  Mine got so bad that by Queenstown,  the smallest slope was leaving me feeling completely breathless and gasping.  This is not good.

To add to the air of jolity, it's raining.  The view of Mount Cook is still noticeable by it's absence.After breakfast it was time for a drive down to Twizel along the side of the unbelievably blue Lake PuiKaki.  As soon as we go 3 miles from Mount Cook the rain stops and the sun comes out.  The purpose of our 45minute each way journey is to visit a pharmacist -she chats to Maria and diagnoses hay fever,  I'm not completely convinced to be honest but she leaves with  lots of different tablets and potions.  Lets hope they make a difference.

On the way back, its still sunny all the way along until of course we get to Mount Cook airport the rain comes down in buckets.  A quick lunch at the Sir Edmund Hillary Museum cafe then we decide to leave this soggy place behind and head to Lake Tekapo.

Down by the side of Lake Tekapo, sits The Church of the Good Shepherd.  This tiny little church sits in an amazing position by the side of the lake with mountains in the background.  The view is so stunning they don't bother to have any decoration behind the alter - just a large picture window.

We drove up to the nearby Mount John observatory at the top of a very windy hill and captured a few more snaps of McKenzie country before being blown back into the car.

Then it was a drive back to base, an d the weather had worsened.  Mount Cook village was under yet more rain.

For our evening meal,  we took a drive down to The Old Mountaineer Bar and Cafe.  - it;s only a short walk but we drove as it was lashing down.  Whilst we were sitting in the mountaineers cafe, the weather starts to change.  A patch of blue sky slowly appears,  the rain slows and the clouds slowly disipate.

Finally,  just as the sun sets, we sight Mount Cook.  Which was just as well as otherwise I would have had to get a refund from the hotel.