It was 842 degrees... Fahrenheit and Celsius combined. I didn't leave Lake Tekapo until 5:00 p.m. in hopes of avoiding the hottest part of the day. Ha. Right. Nice try. I love the desert and used to drink sunshine in a tall glass with a slice of lime, but it is something else down here in New Zealand. It sucks all the energy from you with a fierceness I can't quite describe. With every step forward, I fall back a meter or two. What a delight to see the tiny telephone hut emerge for my night of cool sleep.

I accidentally slept in, perhaps my body needed the rest. Oh, how I wanted some early cool hours of walking. I can't complain... It was still beautiful... With an all day view of Mt. Cook and plenty of opportunities to jump in the lake.

The trees have completely disappeared for this last week on trail. I even had to crawl into a spiky bush one lunch break to shade myself from the sun's blistering rays. But the mountain passes are still here... and I sure love it up high. I'm drinking gallons of water, it would be just horrible to go dry. Oh, and the sandflies are on vacation. They don't like this heat either. Finally, I cowboy camped... 4 nights in a row, at that! I guess it was a blessing Wanaka was booked out.