New Zealand, Feb 19, 2010 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ... go to next day.

Next morning opens with a bright blue sky, so we decide to take a day off from riding.

We take a four-hour hike up to Mt. John and down to Lake Tekapo; the summit is at 1031 meters above the sea level, but only about 300 meters above the lake.

The hues of blue and turquoise are astonishing.

Different shades of brown just make the blue and turquoise more intense.

Most tourists come up to Mt. John by car.

We have coffee in Astro Cafe at the Summit, which also hosts the Mount John University Observatory.

The trail around and down Mt John is peaceful ... and it also gets quite warm.

We don't meet too many people ...

... or any other animals for that matter.

When back in town we taste some local beers at Run77, a combined apparel store and coffee shop. Big beers: Green Man Brewery's (Dunedin) IPA and Whiskey Oak Aged Bitter (6.5% ABV)

We have dinner at Pepe's Pizza and Pasta that was so crowded last night: a vegetarian pizza and a lamb and potato pizza with mint jelly.

We enjoy the most magnificent starry sky when walking back to our cabin.