Lake Tekapo and The Church of Good Shepherd, NZ

Only upon reaching Lake Tekapo that we discovered from one group of visitors the two main attractions (at least to them) that draw people to visit this place. The first is The Church of Good Shepherd and the second is to look at the stars and the milky way. In fact, there is a third one which is to take a dip at the Hot Spring.

Mt. John University Observatory.

After we discovered that Mt. John University Observatory is also built nearby, we were convinced that this would be probably the best place in NZ to gaze at the stars and milky way. That night, we went out and looked deeply into the clear sky above. We saw with our naked eyes an obvious wider band or spectrum of stars, but no milky way. Those who come to gaze at stars and milky way need to follow guided tour and be armed with powerful telescopes and other tools.

In the case of the Hot Spring, we almost took a dip in the pool had I not asked one silly question. After paying the entrance fee and were about to change to the swim suits, I quipped, "In our hot spring at home (I remembered our Poring Hot Spring), we normally mix the hot water from the hot spring with cold water to a higher temperature that we are most comfortable with".

The counter staff, "Ours is not exactly a Hot Spring from a volcanic source. It is just water drawn from the lake and heated to become hot water. There is no smell of sulphur".

With that information, we declined to take the dip as that was not what we came for. They were gracious to refund the money back to us in full! That bath would have cost us RM90 for two!

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This tiny Church of Good Shepherd was built in 1935. It sits prominently on a tiny peninsular that juts out into Lake Tekapo. Arguably, this is the most photographed church in NZ. Many people have chosen to conduct their wedding here.

The most unique design of the church is the three panels of clear glass window installed at the back wall of the church.

I jokingly said to the volunteer manning the church that it would be very difficult to concentrate on what the preacher speaks when the congregation would be focusing and enjoying the scenery behind the glass window. She smiled and agreed.

I could only imagine that the Architect at the time of the design must have gone through a tough time deciding whether to allow the congregation to focus solely on the speaker (with probably solid wall) or to also enjoy the beauty of the landscape (with clear glass windows). In the end, his instinct for the beauty of nature prevailed. The marvelous scene of the beautiful mountains combined with the turquoise blue green colour of the lake surface was just too awesome to ignore. I believe he made the right decision!

Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the Church. I have abstracted from other website just to have a feel of what it is liked to sit inside as a congregation member with the awesome picture-postcard view through the glass window in the front!

Photo abstracted from "Travel Wonder 
of The World" website

Photo abstracted from "Travel Wonder
of The World" website

Sunset at the church

In the evening, we came back just to feel the evening ambience and the sunset view at this Church.