REFLECTION OF NEW ZEALAND & LAST DAY HERE IN NEW ZEALAND AND QUEENSTOWN:

REFLECTION OF NEW ZEALAND & LAST DAY HERE IN NEW ZEALAND AND QUEENSTOWN: 

                                     A beautiful Day

Lazy morning today and we really have no set plans.  Enjoying some coffee, yogurt and muesli here in the room.  We are catching up on paperwork and starting to make plans to get to the airport tomorrow morning. 



What can I say, New Zealand is an amazing place. Lots of great endemic critters, beautiful landscapes, and warm welcoming people with a great history. I still have to learn a bit more about the history and have a recommended book to read. 

Yes, we can see making another visit here for sure. I think independent driving in a camper van would be a good way to go. There are many many many camping locations everywhere one goes as well as many well marked roadside picnic areas.

I feel I have bolstered the economy with the purchase of possum/wool products.

 

I think the plan for today will be to explore the waterfront area and find the Hot Dog Cart.  
Well the Hot Dog Inc cart did not make an appearance today. 

 

                                 Perky's Floating Bar

              Jet Shark boats buzzing all about, $39 for a ride

                                Cormorant Drying it's wings



We walked along waterfront to the Marine Parade and from there continued into the Queenstown Gardens for a nice stroll along the lake front. The trail was nicely forested and provided shade. 



                   Entrance to the Queenstown Gardens

                        Bees are big here is New Zealand

                                           A Nice Mural

This took us back to Queenstown and we wove our way amongst the shops finishing some gift shopping.  It was fun seeing the shops in the maze of Queenstown. There were what I would consider high end shops and rubber tomahawk (knick-knack   tourist places) and a multitude of trip sign up offices. 

 

Getting close to lunch time we tried to find the hot dog cart, but alas it was not at their location along the waterfront. We had found Eric’s Fish and Chips and they had a hot dog on the menu. Theirs is a formed log of ground lamb and covered in tempura batter. We dipped it in a sweet chili sauce and I declared it very good. Splitting the hot dog was not enough for lunch. 

                                                             New Zealand Hot Dog

                                                                Dumplings and drinks

                                         Lots o Ice Cream

Along the waterfront is a cart selling dumplings. We purchased an order of 8 for 10NZD and took them to Perky’s Floating Bar for drinks. This is a boat that does not leave the dock and is a bar. One is encouraged to bring in your food. Lynn had a ginger beer and I had the house pale ale. We sat and enjoyed our dumplings and drinks watching the waterfront activities. 



Lynn really wanted to get some highly recommended Patagonia Ice Cream. This popular location was busy and the service was very efficient. The ice cream was very good, Lynn got the Hokey Pokey and I had dark chocolate macadamia nut. 



Then we walked back up the hill to the grocery store to get some items to fill in for our dinner and travel home. 

Back to the room to check in for our flight home. 

Again I will reiterate how much we enjoyed New Zealand.  This is a location well worth a visit and there is so much to see adn do here. I can see us returning and driving about maybe camping depending on the season. Locals we have talked to say April/May would be a good time as it is a shoulder season.

I will say my wool hat collection has grown, along with my collection of International grocery bags. 

 

MILFORD SOUND WITH CHEEKY KIWI:

MILFORD SOUND WITH CHEEKY KIWI: 

 

 



Today we venture off for a full day, yes, a very full day trip to Milford Sound. We have arranged to travel there with the Cheeky Kiwi in a small group tour. 



We are up plenty early to have our in room breakfast and make our way to the pickup point. 

Minutes before our set pick up time of 0622 the Cheeky Kiwi van arrived. We had a nice warm greeting for Jonathan our driver and guide. We made a few stops to pick other passengers. 

 

The van is a 15 passenger Mercedes and was very comfortable.

 

The journey started in the dark as it is a long drive to get to Milford Sound. Jonathan did not start any narrative until the sun was up and we could see things. 

We made several stops on the way to Milford Sound. These were for photos and information stops, coffee and food, and relief. All were well times and planned.

 

 

 

 

When we arrived at Milford Sound we were given a picnic lunch. This included a great chicken sandwich, apple, juice, mints, chips, and a brownie for dessert. 

 

 

 



We were given a boarding pass for our boat and soon we were onboard. The boat was operated by Cruise Milford. The beauty of this cruise is even though the boat has a capacity of 150 passengers, their trips are limited to 75 passengers. This allowed one to move about with ease. They also offered coffee, tea, and biscuits (cookies). 



Milford Sound is a fjord and a beautiful one at that. There are many waterfalls, birds, and dolphins, and seals and yes beautiful scenery. 

Our friends who have been to New Zealand said Milford Sound is not to be missed, and yes they are correct. MILFORD SOUND SHOULD NOT BE MISSED. 


 

 

I enjoyed the ride back taking in the scenery and information imparted by Jonathan. 

I must say I highly recommend Cheeky Kiwi for any touring one may want to do in New Zealand.  

 

The cell phone photos will not do Milford Sound Justice. Please give me a week or more to sort and edit the photos I took today. I will let you know when they are added to my photo websites:

https://soggymoosephoto.smugmug.com/

And 

11-scott-hughes.pixels.com

At this time I am thinking of a separate collection just for Milford Sound. 

BYE BYE, BIRDS, BURGERS, GROCERY, AND BAKERY:

 BYE BYE, BIRDS, BURGERS, GROCERY, AND BAKERY:

After our breakfast we hung out in the lobby to say Bon Voyage to our fellow travelers and guides.

We then retired to our room and packed up in preparation to move to our next hotel, Peppers Beacon. This property is located just around the corner and luckily we had scouted out an easy route with just two major hills one to ascend and one to descend. 

We dropped off our bags and the nice lady at the front desk told us of an easier way to get to the Gondola and Kiwi Park Queenstown.

Our plan was to start at the Kiwi Park and then ride the gondola. Once into the Kiwi Park, we quickly realized this would take us a good bit more time than we thought as it was larger than expected. 



 

First we attended a Conservation Show where many endemic spices were were introduced. This was a well done program and we found it to be very informative. 


Next we were off to their kiwi encounter. This is a nocturnal encounter where one must allow for ones eyes to adjust to the dark. There were three areas with three different kiwis. As with the other  kiwi encounters we experienced no photography is allowed. 



Next we ambled about the rest of the park observing several different birds and reptiles. 

Nice encounters with parakeets, Kea’s, and falcon, and more, lest I forget, the Tuatara. 

 

 

 

 They also have an keen interest in honey bees and we were able to try some of their honey. 



We had spent about 4 hours there and decided it was time for some food. 

Fergbergers is a well known burger joint here in Queenstown. There is always a line out the door. Do not let the line intimidate you as it does move rather quickly. 

 

 

We got in line and were soon placing our order. Then a table opened up and we had a seat. Our burger was soon ready for pickup. First is these burgers are big, very big, juicy and messy. Second, they are really good, very good and one was enough for lunch and dinner for both of us.  

Next off to the local grocery to get supplies for the next few days as we have very early starts and no breakfast with the hotel room. 

We were back at our new hotel to check in at about 1600. 

Settled in and started repacking and getting things together for our LONG day trip to Millford Sound.  



GOLD, BUNGEE, WINE, STEAMBOAT, DOGS, SUNSET:

 GOLD,  BUNGEE, WINE, STEAMBOAT, DOGS, SUNSET:



 

 

This is our last day with the Adventures by Disney group. I must say it has been a very nice group to travel with.

 

After breakfast, we boarded the bus and made our way to Arrowtown. This is a community with a nice blend of old and new. Originally it was established as a gold mining town. 

Today there is an excellent museum telling the towns story. Seriously it is a great museum and well worth a visit. We spent about an hour there. The Museum also houses a gallery and we did pick up a nice bit of art work. 

There is a working post office gift shop across the street form the museum. Handy for sending post cards. 

 

 

The leg bone of a MOA (now extinct) and a model of the TSS Earnslaw and a kewl pup sign.

The town is chocked full of many shops offering all sorts of hand crafted items. We did stop at the local grocery and got some treats for The Boys. 

This town also maintains many of the old houses and buildings which gives the town a nice feel. We did not explore the whole of Arrowtown, and I am sorry I did not take many pictures inside the museum.

While we were in Arrowtown, some of the group chose to do a bike ride and we met them at the Kawarau bridge. This is where the whole bungee experience started. Some of our group return to jump. 


 

Back on the Bus to the Gibbston Valley Winery for lunch and wine cave tour. Nice lunch and wine were enjoyed.  They specialize in Pinot Noir and it is rather good. 

 

 



Back to Queenstown for a quick break and then off to dinner on the TSS Earnslaw. The TSS Earnslaw is a 1912 Edwardian twin screw steamer based on Lake Wakatipu . She is one of the oldest tourist attractions in the area and the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere. 

Her history was that of hauling goods, sheep, cattle and more to the various properties around the lake. She was assembled and then disassembled for transport to the lake where she was reassembled. 

The TSS Earnslaw has appeared in the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In the movie, the Earnslaw was used as an Amazon River boat. 

 

 



We sailed across the lake to the Walter Peak Farm. Here we watched a sheep dog demonstration. This was fun to watch a dog working and moving the sheep via voice commands.

 

Here at the Walter Peak Farm, we had our final group dinner. 



 

 

 

Sailing back to Queenstown we were treated to a great sunset.