Dateline February 5, 2015, Lake Tekapo, the Lodge, and the Church of the Good Shepherd
Arrival.
Our next stop was Lake Tekapo, where we checked into a lovely lodge, The Lodge at Lake Tekapo, and were welcomed by Stephanie and Alistair.
It was a very cold day, around 10°C and raining, and the mountains across the lake had very little snow on them. We learned the difference between a lodge and a B&B in New Zealand: a lodge will also serve dinner on request, if you give them notice the day before, where a B&B only serves breakfast. After a few drinks and a chat with the other guests, who were from Denmark and England, we asked Stephanie where she would recommend for dinner.
Kohan, and a salmon revelation.
She pointed us at Kohan, a Japanese restaurant on the lake just down the hill. John and Janice headed down. Pete and Bunny opted for a walk by the water. Dinner was fabulous. We had local fresh-water alpine salmon sushi, which we had never come across before. The salmon are raised in the canals down by the lake, and it was perhaps the best salmon either of us has ever eaten. Back to the lodge after for a good night's sleep.
Breakfast with a view.
In the morning we came up to the dining area for breakfast. The view from the table was breathtaking. Overnight, the mountains had been covered in snow.
The breakfast itself was a small feast: fruit and cereal, homemade croissants, then omelets with mushrooms, cheese, and tomatoes alongside bacon. After we had eaten, we asked Stephanie to tell us about her family. She is a fifth-generation New Zealander.
What followed was one of the best stories we heard on the trip.
Stephanie's family history
Stephanie's words, with light edits for clarity:
My great-great-great grandfather came to New Zealand in 1857 from Stirling, Scotland. He brought his wife and children, and they disembarked at Dunedin (dun for south, edin for Edinburgh — hence Dunedin). Peter Robertson's job was to be shepherd for Lord Cargill in central Otago. Peter and his wife Mary lived in Lawrence, after accessing the interior via Māori canoe over Lake Waihola. Mary did not see another white woman for three years.
In the 1860s, gold was discovered in the Lawrence region, a large strike at Gabriel's Gully. Gabriel Read claimed the first gold after staying with the Robertsons, and in appreciation of their hospitality gave Mary the first nugget. It stayed in the family as a wedding ring.
Their daughter Janet married the new doctor from Glasgow, Alexander Stewart. He came out to treat the growing population on the goldfields and was especially caring with the Chinese miners. Alexander drowned on horseback en route to the Chinese settlement.
Their son, John Alexander Stewart, married the daughter of John Hardy Morrison, manager of the Mosgiel Woolen Mills and a Dunedin councillor. Her father-in-law was Fred Hobbs, the mayor of Christchurch. John and Henrietta's daughter was my grandmother. They lived a very privileged life in suddenly-affluent Dunedin. All the gold, and the wool, and later the frozen lamb, came through the port at Dunedin. The city today is a quiet town kept alive by the University of Otago campus.
Alistair's great-grandfather came to Dunedin in 1857 as well, also from the Stirling area. James Craig was a farmer in Hampden, then later in Wanganui. He married twice, had a huge family, and Alistair's grandfather won a ballot for a farm with his two brothers in the Parapara region, after the Boer War. Alistair's aunt recently died aged 101, so I expect Alistair will be around for a while. The family farm is now managed for them, but it is still owned by Alistair and his three brothers.
Alistair and I went to school together in 1966, at a private girls' prep school. He and his brothers had just arrived back in New Zealand from London, where his father had been on a short-term program at a London medical school. They lived across the road from the school, so the brothers were accepted for half a year.
I had the honor of sitting next to him, although from the scowl on my face, obviously not happy about it. We met again in 2002, working at the same company. The other coincidence was that my son Jack's friend, Morgan Oddie, had an ancestor named Alexander Don, the minister in Lawrence at the same time as my great-grandfather Alexander Stewart. They were great friends. When we, by accident, ended up visiting Lawrence with Morgan and Jack, we discovered this strange but true story. New Zealand is a village.
The class photo.
There is more to the story of how Stephanie and Alistair found each other, which she also told us.
Stephanie met Alistair in the wine business in Martinborough. One day at a business party, the table fell into a discussion about where everyone was from and where they went to school. Stephanie was on the business side; Alistair was a winemaker. Stephanie said she had gone to a very small girls' school no one would have heard of. Out of nowhere, Alistair said he had also gone there. Of course Stephanie said that was impossible, until she went home and dug out a class picture from the school.
Sitting next to her in the picture, with the scowl above, was Alistair. She had a lot of fun showing the photo around the company. The reunion has lasted to this day.
Back to the lodge.
The lodge has a very large lounge for guests, with tea, coffee, wine, and sodas, along with shelves of books and movies. A very comfortable place to socialize.
We thanked our hosts and headed down the hill to visit the Church of the Good Shepherd.
The Church of the Good Shepherd.
This is a landmark across New Zealand, used in many of the country's marketing brochures. We were told it is visited at a rate of about six tour buses an hour.
The local community wanted a church that could serve as a central meeting place for locals and for the campers and travelers who came through the region. The plan was a simple stone church overlooking the lake, with the main feature being a plate-glass window behind the altar that would make the lake and the mountains the focal point. The church was to be dedicated "firstly to the glory of God and second to the pioneers of the district." In keeping with the Anglican tradition, it was open to all.
In January 1935, His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester laid the first stone. All the stones were gathered from the lakeside, selected for shape and color. The church was dedicated in August of that same year.
On Christmas and Easter, the inside is full, with sometimes thousands more on the outside for the service.
All in all, the Lodge at Lake Tekapo may be one of the best places to stay in New Zealand. If your travel plans include Lake Tekapo, this is where to stay. It is a must-visit on the way to or from Queenstown.
Lavender.
As we drove off, we passed a field of lavender. Bunny sat down in the middle of it, loving the smell.
On to Queenstown, the scenic way.
Stephanie had told us to be sure, on the way to Queenstown, to take the road via Mt Cook, Lake Wanaka, and the Crown Range Road. We did. Pictures say it all.
