my travel - south island's alpine beauty

Lynn Roberts discovers the South Island’s alpine beauty spots more than live up to expectations.

icing on the cake

I gazed at our photos of the South Island, including our visit to Mount Cook and voyage on to the Tasman Glacier and asked my eldest son Harry what was the highlight. "The luge at Queenstown," he replied. Such are the minds of children – and my boy is a petrolhead to boot.

But I was mesmerised by this stunning mountain – the focal point for a diverse and inspirational trip which took us from Christchurch via Lake Tekapo to Mt Cook and on to our final destination, Queenstown.

I swap my 10-year-old, rattling Corolla for a nice new Toyota Rav4 4X4 and my sons Harry, 10, and George, 7, sit up high in the back with room to view and to bicker.

Our journey takes us first to Lake Tekapo and the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd. Stunning photos of this lonely chapel sitting next to the unreal, azure blue of Lake Tekapo feature in all the guide books. But the little church is not so lonely after all, because tourist accommodation has sprung up around the lake to keep it company. It's not the isolated place I expected but beautiful nevertheless.

I meet a Kiwi couple now living in Brisbane who have fulfilled a dream by coming to this idyllic place. I oblige by taking a photo of them with a disposable camera at the church's entrance. The camera will be thrown away but their memories will last.

Our oasis at Alpine Springs is just a bit up the road. We stop for a soak in the hot pools and try inline skating in an arena which is transformed into an ice rink in winter.

You can enjoy a massage and have your body wrapped in glacial mudat the spa. The setting is gorgeous and it makes the perfect pitstop on the way from Christchurch to Mt Cook and Queenstown. We journey on and arrive at The Hermitage Hotel in Aoraki Mt Cook refreshed.

I now fulfil my own dream. My sister has a picture of Mt Cook hanging in her home 18,000km away in England. I draw the curtains at our motel room and there is it, looking like a picture stuck on the window. But this is the real thing – not a poster.

This magnificent mountain changes constantly and I could spend all day looking at but it's happy hour in the Snowline Bar and an open fire, a glass of pinot noir and more stunning views await.

Buffet dinner in the Alpine Restaurant caters for all tastes, including George's. He happily fills his plate with lasagne and a pile of sliced lemons. The scrumptious wine is the icing on the cake formy partner and I.

Denis Callesen, general manager of tourism, joins us to share his passion for the Hermitage and this unique alpine village. He has climbed 3754m-high Mt Cook himself and tells us once is plenty.

He's a modest but toughmanof Scottish descent. And, as a celebrant, he conducts wedding ceremonies all year round on the alpine slopes dressed in his ceremonial kilt.

The Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre at the Hermitage is a museumwith information about the mountain and the hotel's history.

Displays and video footage tell the story of how Hillary cut his mountaineering teeth here.

The centre has its own 3D cinema and my boys are captivated by the movie Mount Cook Magic, which tells the Maori legend of how the mountain was created. There are also planetarium features on the cinema's digital dome.

It's a beautiful day for a boat trip on Tasman Lake, formed as the Tasman Glacier, at the foot of Mt Cook, retreats.

A massive chunk of the glacier broke off about six weeks ago, forming huge icebergs in the lake. Fresh icebergs are steely blue before they are exposed to the elements, which warm them, separating the ice into individual, white crystals.

The knowledgeable guides from Glacier Explorers tell you everything you will ever need to know about a glacier but I was lost in my own thoughts amid the outstanding serenity and beauty of the place. George and Harry just wanted to suck a piece of glacial ice; a gin and tonic to put it in, for me, would have probably been too perfect.

Feeling at one with the natural world and full of good karma,we picked up a smelly Belgian hitchhiker en route to Queenstown. His knowledge of the Mackenzie region was impressive but became tedious after a while. Hemade requests to stop every couple of miles to take photos and we eventually made our excuses and parted company in Twizel.

A refreshing drink in a pub garden in picture-postcard perfect Arrowtown lifted our spirits for Queenstown. The Skyline gondola up to Bob's Peak gives you a bird's eye view of this resort town. The view alone is enough incentive to make the trip but Harry is determined to have a go on the luge. I have to agree with him, flying down the track on a large plastic tea tray with handlebars is great fun and a Queenstown adrenaline thrill for littlies and softies. A trip up The Remarkables to play after a 25cm dump of snow is nearly as thrilling.

We spend our last day on the TSS Earnslaw steaming across Lake Wakatipu to pet the livestock at Walter Peak High Country Farm.

We feed the deer and the sheep, enjoy afternoon tea and see the sheepdogs doing their work and guide Lindsay doing his work shearing a sheep. The tour is conducted with the usual Kiwi cheer and humour.

The Americans on the trip laugh as Lindsay tells them the old sheep are sold in New Zealand as mutton but shipped off to the US as finest NZ spring lamb.

Lynn Roberts was hosted by Apex Car Rentals, Alpine Springs, The Hermitage, Glacier Explorers, Skyline Queenstown and Ezibed.com.

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