Lose yourself in the wonderland beauty

It was the middle of summer; the sun was blazing down, dry and relentless as it gets in Tekapo. I was hurtling down the world’s biggest inflatable slide, screaming, while my friend, also in his 30s, was doing the same on the other side.

I was the fastest down, and as I stood up to do a victory dance, I slipped over and bruised my upper thigh, really badly.

But you couldn’t take the smile off my face.

As I looked around, I could see the azure blue lake, tussock grass, snowcapped peaks, and rugged hills.

The extremes of weather, from the burning heat of summer to a snowdusted winter wonderland, are matched by the dynamic scenery.

Lake Tekapo is picture-postcard perfect, and when I drive over the hill, my heart starts to flutter like I am about to see a lover.

There is something about the small South Island town in the middle of the Mackenzie Country that is pretty special, but I don’t need to tell you that – it’s one of the most Instagrammed images in the nation.

Like Taupo¯ , Tekapo is a tourist town built around a lake, with busloads of visitors stopping or passing through every day, to gaze on its wonder. Tekapo is a lot smaller, but we all know good things come in small packages.

Tekapo is a place to visit at all times of day and year. At night-time, you can look up and see the spectacular display the stars are putting on, while during the day there are plenty of activities.

Go for a walk up Mt John, whip around the lake in the summer and have a hoon on your water-skis, or as I like to do, go and find a small, isolated bay down the road where I can take my top off and soak up the sun, floating around in the tepid water while cooling off enough to be refreshed.

The thing with Tekapo is it has an otherworldly feel to it. It is in New Zealand, but not the New Zealand as most know it – you go there to get lost in its beauty. Or engaged. Over Easter, John Lawrenson of Hamilton took his girlfriend, Nicole, to Tekapo. They could have gone to Taupo¯ , it’s just a hop skip and a jump from home, but he wanted to impress this one. ‘‘Tekapo over Taupo¯ any day. It’s just beautiful.’’ And Lawrenson did what so many other people do when they visit the small town; he chucked it up on Instagram. Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling all raved about the area on their various social media accounts when filming A Wrinkle In Time. And boy oh boy, did they rave. On the back of hanging around in the area, Oprah used the hashtag #boydoilovenewzealand and is making the hike halfway around the world to come back to celebrate her 65th birthday. She could go anywhere in the world – including Taupo¯ , but it’s the South Island highlands that wooed her.