We drove from Arrowtown to Fairlie, and along the way, made a pit stop at the Roaring Meg. It’s not just a cool name—this thing powers the local hydroelectric station and then merges with the Kawarau River. Nature’s multitasker! Some of the landscape on the way reminded me of the chocolate hills in the Philippines—except, you know, on steroids.
Then, we hit up Lake Pukaki, and let me tell you, that water is so turquoise it practically glows. And in the background? Snow-capped Mt. Cook just chilling like it owns the place. Lake Pukaki gets its color from meltwater flowing off glaciers, which is rich with rock flour—basically, finely ground-up rock that the ice grinds as it moves. Nature’s very own splash of color.
And tonight was a stellar experience! We’re in a Dark Sky Zone, so the Milky Way truly put on a spectacular show, dazzling us with its brilliance. Honestly, the night sky was so magnificent, I half expected a UFO to make a cameo. We even managed to snap a few photos with our iPhones. Okay, okay—they weren’t pro-level pics, but hey, the fact that we got them at all? Pure magic. Definitely more “tourist snapshot” than “National Geographic,” but still, we’ll take it!
