and thought about moving on to Queenstown earlier than planned. However by the time I had had breakfast the weather had started to clear. I needed to catch up on some housekeeping chores such as washing and realised that if I moved on it would involve complicated changes to my schedule. After making some enquiries I decided that I could have a go at another walk. This one is called the Red Tarns track and involved a steep climb up a stepped path to a corrie area with some tarns in it, coloured red by algae. At the top there would be spectacular views. The friends I met in Kaikoura had told me about another walk in the area called the Sealy Tarns walk. It is a similar steep climb with spectacular views but I thought I would struggle to cope with it as there was a longish walk just to get there and I was tired after all the walking the day before. I set off with my packed lunch and a bottle of water in some trepidation as I wondered if I could make it and how good the path would be. The weather got better and better and by the time I had started climbing I was really hot and I had to stop and put sun screen on. I was also being bitten by insects so that involved another stop to spray on insect repellent. There was one lovely shady bit of woodland near the start of the walk in a small patch of the original forest, podocarp and mountain beech trees. There was convenient bench for a rest and a drink. It was fantastic to spend a few minutes thinking this is what the land must have been like when the first Maori arrived. When the Europeans came they burned off these ancient forests to encourage the growth of grass for sheep farming.
The walk was very different from the day before. There was nobody else there. I saw 7 people during the entire walk. In fact it was not a walk it was a climb as it was steps all the way. 
I kept stopping to rest and look at the views which became more and more amazing as I climbed. I could see right across Mt Cook village and to the end of the Meuller Glacier and then as I got further up I could see into the Hooker Glacier valley as well. The walk was meant to take 2 hours both ways but I think that it must have taken me nearer an hour and half to do the climb.
As I got nearer the top I nearly gave up as I came to a bit where the path gave out and it was bare rock. I hate rock climbing and knew I would get vertigo and be stuck there. I stopped for another rest when two fellow walkers turned up. A girl from Israel and a boy from Taiwan. They gave me courage to go on as they moved up the slope I could see where the path went over the rocks with clear steps on it after all. Having let them go ahead I kept going. After 5/6 steps I would think that my legs would go not further and stop and rest and finally after doing that loads of times I saw and bench and outlook point which marked the top of the hill. I had made it!!
The views were fantastic and the sense of achievement even greater but the tarns were a disappointment. Just two or three little ponds.
I ate my lunch and chatted to the Israeli and Taiwanese about their travels and then after a good rest set off down the hill. Going down was much easier than going up although I had to tread very carefully and be careful not to trip as my leg muscles were very tired. One false move and I would have tumbled down a very steep ravine!!
When I got back in the early afternoon I went for a well earned cup of tea and then a shower and did housekeeping jobs and caught up on my blog.
In the evening I had decided to treat myself to a bit of luxury and book myself into The Hermitage Panoramic Restaurant for a meal. It was a very well presented meal and the service and surroundings were very posh but the food was not outstanding. I decided to try the salmon which was local farmed salmon from Lake Tekapo. 
Like a lot of farmed salmon it was soggy in texture as there is not much current for the fish to swim again to give the flesh texture. The thing I was really surprised about was that you could not get local line caught brown trout. Rod trout fishing is a bit activity in the area both for locals and for tourists and I am sure that would be a much more interesting fish to eat.
And so back to the hostel to get ready to leave the next day.
