Tekapo Lupin Field

AN OCEAN OF LUPINS SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS

28 DECEMBER 2022

There's nothing better than snowy mountains and beautiful lupins!

It's What They All Come To See

Tekapo is famous for its lupins and it draws a looot of visitors to the area to see them. Of course, it's just a bonus to see them, there are even more beautiful views to see in the area!

The lupin field is an ocean of purples, pinks, blues and a little bit of sunset throw in. It's there from mid-November to the end of December although we found the best time to see them was the 2nd week of December.

It's hard to miss as you're coming into Tekapo from Christchurch as it's a huuuuge field and so colourful! We kept saying we needed to visit, but other adventures in the area took precedence and we left it to the end of December and they were fading big time!

The roads all around the Tekapo region have the most incredible views everywhere you look!

The road into the field is unsealed but easily accessible

The lupins are in bloom from mid-November to the end of December

It's a park where you want kinda deal

Just Rock On Up

The driveway into the field isn't sealed and there's no designated carpark so you just rock on up and park where you like (within reason, let's not be parking right on top of the lupins ok?).

Sienna absolutely loves the lupins, no matter where we went in Tekapo, she would always be wanting to pick one or run through them! We were looking after a gorgeous Springer Spaniel and he was hilarious as he would run through the lupins and spring up every now and then (I can see why they're called springers!) and Sienna would follow him. You'd just see these lupins shaking about and see a head or dog pop up. We didn't take the dog with us to this lupin field but they would run about in the ones on the Cowans Hill Track up the back of Tekapo.

There were 'pathways' in the lupins where people had walked through, so we followed those tracks instead of making our own new ones and trampling any more beautiful lupins.

The area is so big, you barely see anyone else or bump into them which makes it easier to enjoy the lupins.

Sienna leading the way to the lupins

We found that the lupins were most vibrant early-mid December

Sienna absolutely loved running through the lupins

Such a beautiful sight!

A Beautiful Landscape

The Tekapo region is seriously beautiful and I loooved looking at the lupin field with the dark green pine trees and snowcapped mountains in the background.

Even though the lupins were fading, they were still so beautiful and we noticed the ones around the edges of the field were more faded but the ones grouped together were still looking mostly lush!

We had some incredibly hot weather over the summer in Tekapo which made it so fun for exploring and taking pictures - but it did mean we didn't spend too long out in the sun!

Pathway to heaven?

Hellooooo blue skies!

We didn't see one single bee on any of the lupins!

Let's play hide and seek

This is my favourite photo from the lupin fields

Is It A Mirage?

The sun was INTENSE that day and as we were wandering back to the car, we saw a hill with green grass, lupins and other beautiful coloured flowers. Was it a mirage? Had we been in the sun too long? Will we ever find our way back to the car? Heeeeelp!

Sienna saw the hill and decided she HAD to climb it. She's such a little explorer, it's so cute. Such a contrast between both girls, Sienna jumps in and takes risks and Bella is more thought based and likes to plan out her adventures - both great qualities.

Aside from all the beautiful flowers surrounding is, the land was so dry and bare, it really did feel like being in a desert (would much rather be in a dessert mmm) and it's amazing that anything actually grows on the land there.

On our way back to the car we came across a family of paradise ducks who were wandering in the lupins, I think they were as surprised to see us as we were to see them!

We saw a family of paradise ducks in the lupins

"Come on Mum, let's go climb that hill!"

"I made it up the BIG hill, Mummy!"

That is one random tree stump!

There were a few other colourful flowers growing on the hill

Know Before You Go

The lupins are in bloom from mid-November to the end of December
We noticed this year were most vibrant in the first week of December
There's plenty of parking at the lupin field
We didn't see any bees on the lupins, which makes it easy to get amongst them to photograph!
Entry to the field is free

Mappy McMap Face

Getting There

The lupin field is a quick 5-minute drive from the Tekapo shops, just head along State Highway 8 over the bridge and past the pine forest. There's no signage for the driveway heading into the field, so keep an eye for it on the left once you see all the lupins (you can't miss those!).

Conclusion

The lupins are absolutely beautiful in full bloom and vibrancy and the area is so large that there's so much space for everyone to enjoy them. It's along the main highway from Christchurch, so if you're passing through Tekapo there's no detour to take so it's well worth stopping in.

If you want to experience more fields of lupins, head up the Cowans Hill Track and you'll find a couple of huge areas of lupins. Check out our blog to find the best spots for lupins on the track.