We had a four hour bus ride from Queenstown to Mt. Cook village. We drove though a part of central Otago that wasn't very green and had wineries and fruit stands, which kind of reminded me of parts of California. We had another beautiful, clear day and we had nice views on the ride, particularly as we got closer to Mt. Cook and could see the larger snowy, rocky peaks. Not far form the village we stopped at Lake Pukaki, which is a brilliant turquoise color from the glacier silt, to take a picture of Mt. Cook.