Lupin Weekend

I am starting to get things checked off the "want to do" list for while I'm back down here.  The weekend before thanksgiving I was able to get up to see the wild lupins again!  If you don't like flower pictures, turn back now, because the whole plan for the weekend was to try to get the best lupin pictures I could to send back to Rebecca and Cole.  It was nice to go on a solo trip and get out of Otautau for a bit.  The plan was to go through Queenstown, over the pass to Wanaka, up to Tekapo then home...

Not ten minutes down the road, the sheep farmers had their "sheep crossing" signs up and sure enough I ran into the herds, had to negotiate myself through them a bit.  The lambs are starting to get big!  They put paint on them to help with sorting.

First stop Queenstown on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.  Cloudy days but the mountains didn't care, still a great day to be out and about.  All the rain was still turning into snow above 600m or so, so still some white peaks.

The gorse had completely taken over the hillside.  Its a weed that's taking over.  I think its pretty, but what do I know...

I seem to take this picture every time I go to Queenstown, but I can't help it.  With the snow on the craggy peaks it is one of my favorite spots....

Onward over the pass... I stopped at the famous Cardrona hotel for a quick bite.  Here were the first signs of lupins.  They grow on a "weedy" looking base.  Some people plant them in their gardens for the nice flowers, others think it is a weed and pull it aggressively.

Steak, cider, fire and a book.  Doesn't get much better than this...

I hung around and read a little out back finishing my cider and enjoying their gardens before heading down the road a little further.  How old am I again?...

I spent my first night in Wanaka.  The next morning I took a look at the lake.  Usually giant peaks here, but the clouds were rolling in.  Rain was breaking through regularly.  Pretty nervous if the weekend was going to get rained out at this point, but I came this far so I carried on...

Heading out of Wanaka I stopped at the bridge crossing the Clutha River.  Some baby lupins trying to grow with some other small orange flowers here...

Around the corner was a better vantage point over the river... Rain coming and going, but the day is holding together so far.  Not many lupins to be seen thus far, but the search area is further down the road about 2 hours anyways...

And Eureka!  I found them in a valley near the clay ciffs outside of Omarama.  There were a few here last year, but this early in the season this looks like the epicenter...  Right in the valley with the Ahuriri River...  That doesn't look like it but I was standing on an embankment over the river there.

Across the river was absolutely covered in them!  Or as the Kiwis would say, it was "chockers!" (full up)

I found a narrow path that I could maneuver down to the river edge and get some close ups of the lupins on this side of the river...  They came in all colors... Some nice early pink ones here...

Purples and blues looking the other direction...

They can grow to tower very tall.  The tall flowers must be nearly two feet tall...

Gosh the river was full and raging... lots of rain keeping in muddy.  I didn't get any closer than this, no one out here with me to pull me out... :)

Tall ones standing guard over the river...

I pulled my self back up the embankment... they view across the river was crazy.  I might have to print this one out and hang it on the wall when I get home...

I hiked a little bit down stream and found another area where I could sneak down to the river.  The river had broken into smaller more manageable streams around here.  Still to high to venture across, but more views.  There were lupins as far as you could see...

They grow upwards with green fresh growth on the tops...

I wish I could describe to you the sweet smell you get from fields of lupins!

The rain kept coming and going.  Somehow I didn't mind.  Standing in the rain enjoying to flowers.  The water just made everything seem fresh and new.

Back on the road I found another large patch in a river valley under a bridge...

Chockers... :)

The new spot had the full range of colors.... Nice baby blue ones in the middle that you don't see very often...

All stages of growth her too...

Bright reds!

And pinks!

And purples!

They got really tall!

Back on the road I headed up towards Tekapo where we ran into our big lupin find last year.  Little did I know they weren't out there yet.  I thought there may be bigger fields yet to find, but most of the lupins were now behind me.  I took the opportunity to pull off the main road and drive up to lake Oahu.  It's one of those places we always pass but never go to because you are always on your way to Mt Cook.  But with no schedule I wanted to finally check it out.  There were massive hillsides going right into most brillant blue water from the glacial melt typical of the area.

The hillsides were full of sheep, happy as could be.  They don't see many people visitors up this way very often I don't think.  They were talking to each other enjoying the sun while it lasted...

The colors didn't seem real.  I got the feeling again I was staring at a painting again.  Awe-inspiring...
I drove around the lake enjoying the view before heading back towards tekapo...

I passed lake Pukaki, on a clear day you can see Mt. Cook from here, but this was not a clear day.  The water looked dark from the overhead clouds instead of that nice blue, but the nearer hills looked great.

You couldn't see Mt Cook, but some of her neighbors were out.  The clouds made everything grey with only an occasional sliver of bright blue water where the sun shone through.

I made it to tekapo, and the outskirts were barren.  There were fields full of early growth, but none of it was flowering yet.  Looks like I was about 3-4 weeks too early this year for tekapo!  Luckily I saw all those great ones earlier, and there were a few young ones out by the famous church of the good shepherd on the rocky shore of lake Tekapo.

Lots of colors here too.  This area is very popular from the tourists though, hundreds of people around and the ground is heavily beaten.  Hard to get any quiet or good pictures without a bunch of them...

These ones had some red tops on them...

If I fiddled with my camera I could get the mountains in the distance over the lake...

I stopped by to check out the hillbillies on the way home for Cole and Rebecca's sake.  Sorry guys, it was closed.  If you haven't seen that whole experience click through these links for posts on the whole bizarre story!  Hillbilly Video

Time to head back to work...  One last glimpse of the lupins on my way out (in the sun!).

Pip was in Queenstown and had a house for a nice long week on the lake so I "called in" (stopped by) to visit for a while.  Not a bad view.  Had some lunch looking at the Remarkables mountain range before heading home.   Another nice weekend in the books.

Only three days now before I head back to the United States for good.  Mixed feelings.  Can't wait to be home, and yet never want to leave.  It will be nice to be home for a real family Christmas.  Have not had a family holiday for a few years now.  I just missed Thanksgiving at home too... but you won't believe the doubtful sound trip that I took for Thanksgiving.  I will post that next (crayfishing and dolphins!).  Stay tuned and see you all states-side soon!