Lupin hunting

I have caught the tail end of the lupins in the Mackenzie country a few times unintentionally, but this year I wanted to see them in their peak! So after my teaching finished for the year, I convinced my husband to run away with me and our son for a couple of nights down to Tekapo. The lupins did not disappoint! The photos say more than my words ever could, so check them out!

However it was during this trip that I realised it’s basically just as much work to take the caravan away for a two night trip as a two week trip, with the packing and unpacking and cleaning. So while only having to pay $10 per night to stay at the NZMCA caravan park was appealing, there was the uncalculated cost of labour involved. Not saying we wont do trips like this again, but I’ll definitely be thinking more about whether it’s better for us to take the caravan, or just stay in other form of accommodation.

It is also worth noting that the lupins are an invasive pest here in New Zealand, so while they are beautiful and tourists travel to the area specifically to see and photograph them, they do cause issues with the waterways and change the habitat for native birds so there is a program to reduce them outside the main tourist areas.