If you have come here ...

... following the link on our Fototime page, the beginning of the New Zealand (which I am presently completing) blog is in January 2010. Other travel blogs have dates that you can determine from our Fototime page. (Do remember that blogs are always in reverse order - newest first, which makes for awkward reading for travelogues).

If you got here by some other means, and want to see the associated pictures, our Fototime page is at http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/home?inv=F775A793945F02F

Navigate down using the "blog tree" at the left.

Please note: I am completing this blog from notes (at this time I am finishing the South Island) so if it is not complete, please come back.

Drive to Christchurch, &, about Tsunamis

Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

• breakfast in the hotel was interesting, as half-a-dozen bishops wandered in an out while we were eating, obviously in town for the consecration; none of them Victoria Matthews

Drive Around Otago Peninsula

• after breakfast we headed out for a drive around the Otago peninsula, which forms the south side of a long, fairly narrow bay which forms Dunedin Harbour
• we opted to drive around counter-clockwise, which turned out to be a wise choice; doing so allowed us to hug the "land" side of the road, rather than being on the "water" side
• this is definitely a "white knuckle" drive no matter which way around you go, but at least going this way, if you got squeezed off the side of the road by the frequently large trucks and busses coming the other way, you'd be in a ditch or field, or take the side of the car off on one of the not infrequent cliff faces; going off the road the other side would generally get you onto a steep downhill slope, at best, or a steep drop-off, aka cliff, with ocean at the bottom
• most New Zealand roads, and this one definitely, were designed for British cars of the 1950s, but are now carrying vehicles  built in the 21st century; thus if a full-sized car like a Camry (which we were in) meets a modern touring bus coming the other way, there isn't much room to spare
• barriers to leaving the road are non-existent; in a lot of places there are low wire fences, top maybe 2 feet off the ground with two wires running between very thin posts - these are not there to stop cars from going off the road, they are there to stop sheep from going on the road!
• that's the down side, the up side is that there are often breath-taking views (at least for the passenger, the driver is too busy negotiating the road and many curves to look much - as often happened on this trip, June was taking pictures out the window so that later I could see what I had missed!
• we did a side trip to Sandymount, which involved going off the paved road onto exactly what the name implies, a very large sand mount, overgrown with scruffy prairie grasses, as far a a non-four-wheel drive car was safe to take, from which point there were several hiking paths with short walks to look-outs from which one could see the coastal scenery with the South Pacific Ocean as the background - again, breath-taking views
• from the heights of Sanymount we returned to the "main" = paved road, and continued around the peninsula, with the road alternating between high above the ocean to at sea level
• eventually one comes to a fork in the road, with the main road turning back towards Dunedin, and a narrow track going towards the Royal Albatross Centre, which we took

Royal Albatross Centre & About Albatross

• the Royal Albatross Centre is on Taiaroa Head, which is the end of the Otago peninsula
• it is one of only three world-wide royal albatross breeding colonies, and the only one accessible by car (the other two are in the Chatham Islands, and on Enderby Island, a part of the Auckland Islands which are owned by New Zealand, but are well south of South Island and part of sub-Antarctica)
• the Chatham Island colony is by far the largest, with more than 6000 breeding pairs, while Taiaroa Head has a few more than 20 breeding pairs (Enderby Island's numbers are not known)
• because of the necessity of not disturbing the breeding birds, the parking lot is well away from the breeding grounds, and there is an orientation centre well away also
• in the orientation centre, besides the usual amenities, is a display of material about albatrosses, including a complete skeleton of an adult bird, articulated
• prior to going into the observation part of the visit, one is shown a movie and given an orientation talk about these remarkable bird
• an adult albatross can have a wing span of more than 7 metres, and is a superbly designed machine for flying enormous distances completely away from land
• a breeding pair (albatross generally mate for life) lays a single egg, which both take turns hatching while the other flies out to sea to feed themselves and bring back food for their mate
• the eggs are about the size of a football, laid in October or November, and take about 80 days to hatch
• Once hatched, both parents take turn feeding the chick, using a stomach oil that is very rich and high in energy
• the chicks generally fledge after around 240 days, after which the parents separate and fly out to see for a year 
• once independent, the young birds embark on a world circumnavigation journey that takes about 7 years to complete
• at the end of that time they return to their breeding colony, find a mate, and begin their own breeding life
• their parents also return to the breeding colony after the year at sea, find each other, and breed again (widow/widower birds whose mate does not return generally do not mate again)
• the actual breeding colony is on the other side of a hill from the orientation centre, and to get there one walks through deep trances, deep enough that there is no chance of a bird seeing a human
• the trenches lead into an observation post with windows all around, but not more than 2 feet high, mirrored, so that again the birds cannot see humans
• a number of nests are directly visible from the windows, and good quality binoculars are chained at regular intervals along the windows so that one can get a good view
• other nests not directly in view can be observed on high quality TV monitors, and there are also models of eggs, and other displays
• altogether, a very well done educational centre about these remarkable birds

Return Drive towards Dunedin

• one has to return from Taiaroa Head by the same road one came in on, but eventually one returns to the coastal road, which now mostly runs at sea level along the north side of the Otago peninsula
• eventually, we chose to go inland, and back to higher ground, to visit Lanarch Castle
• this is a very large mansion, built in the style of a Scottish highland castle, in 1870s and 80s by William Lanarch, a colonial entrepreneur and politician
• the history of the Lanarch family is not a happy one, involving betrayal (a wife that committed adultery with his son) and financial collapse, ending with William killing himself in 1898 in the New Zealand Parliament
• the place fell into severe disrepair, and was eventually bought by the Barker's in 1967, who by their own labour completely restored the place and its gardens to their former magnificence
• it is now a very significant Dunedin tourist attraction, and has earned a number of honours, including the garden being rated as a "Garden of International Significance"
• leaving Lanarch Castle, we headed back down to the coast and towards

Glenfalloch Woodland Garden

• Glenfalloch is Gaelic for "hidden valley"; this is an historical garden, established from 1871, and classified as a Garden of National Significance by the NZ Gardens Trust
• not very far from Dunedin, it apparently has a very fine restaurant within it, which however, and sadly as we were near supper time, was reserved for a wedding reception
• we did however enjoy a leisurely walk through the extensive grounds, which words cannot describe; you will have to look at the pictures
• from there, it was an easy drive back to the hotel, an quick brush-up, and out for supper

Supper

• not far from our hotel was the very large Speight's Brewery, which would not be the direction we would walk in, but the concierge at the hotel suggested the Speight's Ale House as a place we might consider for supper
• good suggestion!
• a place with good food, that however is also quite casual and fun
• we ate on a balcony overlooking the main floor; the food was excellent, and (for Down Under) not too outrageously priced
• perhaps the only issue was that the liquid offerings were beer, beer, and beer (there was some wine on the list, but we had been spoiled by NZ wines elsewhere, and these were not of the 1st rank)
• I, of course, enjoyed the beer selection, June, not so much
• and then, to hotel, to bed, and rest for the next day's drive to Christchurch, along the coast, with planned spots to visit

Te Anau to Dunedin

• breakfast opportunities in Te Anau were not numerous
• I got the impression that we were in the only actual hotel in town, and that all other travellers were either backpackers staying in a few hostels; or people on tour buses that stopped briefly later in the day for coffe and a bun
• we ended up at the backpacker cafe, which served a nuritious but assembly line buffet breakfast
• you want butter on your toast, that's extra; jam, that's extra, cram and sugar in your coffee, there's a charge for that, and the coffee too if you want a second cup
• it was fuel for the journey, but not much more
• we began to drive south-eastward across New Zealand by about 10:00 a.m., on good roads that wended their way over broad plains, and low mountain ranges, with higher mountains in the distance
• very spectacular scenery, that looked somewhat familiar, and, of course, we were driving across the Plains of Rohan (LOTR: the Return of the King), more commonly called Southland (the bottom of South Island); although we did not see habitations with a vaguely Scandinavian look about them, nor large numbers of horsemen in sort-of Viking gear
• about half way on the drive to Dunedin we cam to the town of Gore, which advertises itself as the "World Brown Trout Fishing Capital"; emphasized by what I assume is the world-s largest brown trout, about 20 feet long, depicted leaping vertically
• it is a lovely, sleepy town in a broad river valley, with the Mataura River running through it, presumably supplying the brown trout
• wandering around the town, one also comes across a monument announcing that one is in N.Z.' Capital of Country Music, this monument probably would be classified as the world's largest stylized 6-string acoustic guitar (down under seems to specialize in these sorts of "world's largest" things, although Oz has far more of them)
• the main street is lined by very brightly painted shops, with the street having a "western" look, except for the flower-filled median running up the middle
• also different from the wild west is the roof over the side-walks, welcome with the bright sun of summer beating down
• past Gore the drive got somewhat more urban, with lots of little towns to drive through, and near the coast the direction turns north-eastward as the road parallels the coast, but 5 to 15 km inland
• arrived in Dunedin near 3 p.m., checked into our hotel Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, on the corner of Princess & High Street
• if that sounds like we'd stumbled into Edinburgh, that is correct, Dunedin is Scots for Edinburgh, and is a city build by Scots, in a very Scottish style
• a lot of the major city buildings are of lime stone, like its namesake, and there are hints of Scottish influence everywhere
• just one note on parking at this hotel; to get to the prking lot after unloading luggage, one has to drive almost 1 km around the block to the parking entrance, and then one has to park on a very large prking lot that would make a very good skateboard park; ramps at odd angles to one another and to the horizontal; yes parking slots are marked off, but getting to them feels likew driving on a roller coaster; I never did find out what this surface actually wasmeant for
• with parking being what it was, after checking in we proceeded to explore Dunedin on foot
• as I mentioned, Scotish memorials are everywhere (although there is one pub, "The Duke of Wellington, which has on it signs adverising, German, English, and Irish beer, that doesn't fit!), and the first notable building one comes upon near the hotel is the First Church of Otago, needles to say, Prebyterian
• a very large neo-gothic limestone structure, surrouned by very large, fenced grounds, with a large separate "hall", it points to the fact that Dunedin was at one time very prosperous, and still is
• the interior is large and well-lit, but very obviously Presbyterian, with a pulpit where where most churches would have an altar
• wandering around the center of town, all roads eventually come into the "Octagon", which is exactly what the name implies, an 8-sided plaza, with 8 roads leading into it
• it is obviously the centre of the city's life, lined by commercial buildings, with most of them having restaurants and bars on the 1st floor
• the "square" has lawns on which students were lying about in uniforms waiting, as it is also a bus hub
• a very large statue of Robert Burns is on one side, not improved by being a seagull resting place, Dunedin being a coastal town
• the Anglican cathedral is just off the Octagon, and was open so we wandered in, but not without being scrutinized by an "office dragon" who informed us that we would have to be very quiet as a rehearsal was going on
• this being a Friday afternoon, we thought wedding, but no, it was an ordination rehearsal, which had really ended, except we overheard some concluding discussions between the very young man in civies and shorts with sandals who was obviously the ordinand (so I revised my assumption to rehearsal of a priesting), and the Dean in red-trimmed cassock , about some logistics
• afterwards, as the Dean was leaving, I introduced myself, and discovered in fact they had been rehearsing the consecration of the new Bishop of Otago, and that I had just missed "my Canadian bishop", Victoria Matthews (she had indeed been my Canadian bishop)
• the conversation got me an insistent invitation to the consecration, but I begged off on the grounds that we had firm travel commitments, which the Dean assumed meant we had to leave town, and I didn't correct his assumption
• we then found dinner at one of the restaurants on the Octagon, and after that continued our walk-about, to the railway station, which is an amazing Victorian red-brick "wedding cake" construction
• by the time we got there, it was closed, so we could only view the equally elaborate interior through a few windows
• then back to the hotel for the night

Milford Sound (Getting there; Being there; Leaving there)

Drive to Te Anau

• as the crow flies, the distance from Queenstown to Milford Sound proper (the pier from which the cruises depart) is about 70 km
• but, given the mountain ranges and lakes in the way, if the crow is driving, it is closer to 300 km
• we had a pre-booked cruise, lunch included, leaving at 12:30 p.m., and having learned that 300 km on New Zealand roads is at least 5 to 6 hours, we left the hotel at about 5:30 a.m., and drove off, into the dark, direction Te Anau, which is the nearest major town to Milford Sound
• nearest is relative, it is still 120 km from Te Anau to Milford Sound, but it is the last place to get gasoline, and the road can be difficult; eg. in Winter there is avalanche danger, and chains on tires are mandatory under certain conditions
• for about the first 90 minutes of the drive, it continued dark, as we were driving through mountain passes, thus sunrise was later than it would have been at sea level
• luckily, traffic was light, as some of the road was of the "white knuckle" variety, but, in general, it was a pleasant drive
• gradually, we began to see some of the magnificent scenery we were driving through, and eventually emerged into a fairly broad plain as we neared Te Anau
• we got to Te Anau at about 8:30, by which time we were ready for breakfast, the nutrition bars we had brought for this drive having long since been consumed
• charitably, Te Anau is what one would call a "one horse" town; also a not too many places to eat town
• eventually we found a small cafe serving breakfast, which was very pleasant, and the breakfast was certainly adequate; again, scaled to hikers and climbers
• however, facilities were limited, and when we asked for the washroom, we were directed to the public library across the road, which also served as a public convenience, and cheerfully so; the librarians were quite used to people seeking relief, and were happy to provide same
• then, we duly filled up the car, having been warned that this was essential, as there were no gas stations on the way, and only limited supply in Milford Sound (and that was on a credit card basis only, and only chip cards at that) - having had the odd problem with making Canadian chip cards work in New Zealand, we wanted to be sure of having enough gas to get there, and back

Drive to Milford Sound

• the drive to Milford Sound is worth it for the scenery, even if the Sound were not at the end of it
• most of it is through Fiordland National Park, and thus there is very little evidence of human habitation
• the road, which is a proper width two-lane for most of the way is excellently paved, especially considering the conditions which exist during winter
• in our case, we drove in late summer, so conditions were excellent
• eventually the road rises to near 1000 metres above sea level, and goes through a high pass between mountain ranges with snow still apparent, very near the road
• and then one comes to the Homer Tunnel, a slightly more than single lane tunnel about 100 km from Te Anau, thus 20 km from Milford Sound
• the tunnel is about 1250 m long, and at the eastern entrance is at about 950 m of elevation; it drops about 120 m to the western entrance
• although the width is sufficient to allow two cars to pass, it is not wide enough for two buses, or a bus and a car, etc., thus traffic through the tunnel is controlled by traffic lights
• given the nature of the traffic , which is effectively "tidal" headed to the Sound in the mornings, and away from the Sound in the afternoons, this is actually quite effective, and waits are reasonable
• apparently in winter the waits become more problematical, as both ends of the tunnel are subject to avalanches, and thus clearing traffic through becomes more urgent, but this was not our problem
• all around the eastern entrance, where we had to stop to await a green light, which would be about 15 minutes because we had just arrived as the light turned to red, were magnificent mountain views, with snow and ice coming down to road level
• we got out to enjoy the view, and instantly discovered one of the  small problems in Fiordland (one which keeps it mostly free of human settlement); what the New Zealanders call sand flies, and we call black flies
• we quickly sealed off all entrances into our clothing and sprayed bug repellent on every exposed piece of skin, but these little critters were merciless, crawling through the tiniest of gaps in clothing to get at non-repellent sprayed skin
• we very quickly went back into the car, only to discover that the critters were so desperate for human flesh that they came through the air vents to get to us; eventually we beat them back, and,having learned the lesson, proceeded to spray ourselves and every piece of clothing, with repellent
• later, at the Milford Sound ship terminal, we found a display of a greatly enlarged, to about 1 m wingspan, fly, and the Maori legend about them
• apparently, when the god Tuterakiwhanoa, the carver of Fiordland had finished creating the natural beauty of this area, especially his masterpiece, Milford Sound, the goddess Hinenuitep became afraid that humans, attracted by the beauty of the area, would move in and despoil it
• thus she created Te Namu, the black fly, to persuade humans that they should not linger too long
• legends of course convey truths by story, and it is true that very few people actually live in Fiordland; even the workers in Milford Sound on the boats and in the very few amenities there mostly arrive in the morning and leave in the evening
• the drive through Homer tunnel is amazing, with very little lighting overhead, and only unfinished granite walls on the side and overhead, and one emerges at the western portal effectively high up on a rocky mountainside, looking straight out at Milford Sound and the Tasman Sea, as the road makes a sharp right turn almost immediately beyond the portal
• from there to the Milford Sound parking areas is a drive mostly down hairpin turns through nearly 850 m elevation to sea level
• we made that drive through intermittent but hard rain showers
• at Milford Sound there is adequate parking for the large number of cars coming each day, and more parking for the 40 to 50 buses bringing tourists daily (apparently the bus drivers have to be specially qualified on the road in, both summer and winter)
• from the parking lots it is a pleasant walk, with bug repellent in place, to the dock from which the cruise boats leave
• there we had a short wait before we boarded out boat, holding perhaps 200 people for

Milford Sound Cruise

• we arrived near the end of the rain showers, but the view of the Sound was still obscured by mist and cloud
• walking from the parking area to the departure area, and indeed the entire view of the Sound from that end, is dominated by Mitre Peak, which indeed looks like a bishop's mitre
• as one cruises away from the dock, the view opens up, and the first thing one sees to the right is a magnificent water fall
• we were told that we were seeing the Sound at its best, just after heavy rains, when the water run-off from the surrounding land is at its highest
• our outgoing view was somewhat limited, as we had booked the cruise with a buffet lunch, so while we ate a very good meal, we saw the scenery through the large windows of the dining area
• As we finished eating, the weather cleared, the sun began to shine, and the clouds rose to form a pretty background to the peaks surrounding the Sound
• from the deck of the cruise ship the view is pretty much un-obscured, and one can easily move from side to side, as the passenger load is low enough that it does not feel crowded
• the view is almost indescribable with mere words; steep cliff sides, with high mountain peaks above them, and waterfalls and cascades running down from great heights
• the scale is such that it is difficult to perceive the heights from which water is falling, until another cruise ship, similar in size to the one we are on sails near a fall, and looks like a rowboat in comparison
• the guide then tells us over the speaker system that what we are looking at is a waterfall three times as high as Niagara Falls, coming from perhaps one-third of the way up to he higher peaks!
• one of the "novelty" items is the large cruise boat nosing up to a waterfall, so that the water sprays over the bow, drenching anyone silly enough to stay up front (to be fair, they do warn of this, and inform you that cameras and cell-phones probably won't survive the shower)
• we stayed well back!
• the cruise goes just out into the Tasman Sea, before turning around; thus whatever views one missed on the way out can be seen on the way back
• total time on the water is only about 2 hours, but in that time one gets the views of a lifetime; it is no wonder that Milford Sound is on every bucket list of places that have to be visited; it truly is one of the most beautiful spots on earth!
• and then ...

Return Drive to Te Anau

• The drive back is the reverse of coming out, and takes just as long
• The views are of the same mountainous terrain, yet the angles are different, so the drive is by no means boring
• arrived back in Te Anau at about 5:30 p.m., and checked into our hotel, the Distinction Hotel & Villas Te Anau
• This was a hotel of the "Superior" category, but while clean and adequate, was certainly not up to what that category applies; I guess "superior" is relative to what else there is available locally
• after a "freshen-up" we wandered around the town a little bit, including a very nice walk along the lake shore, but quickly realized that the town was rapidly shutting down, so went looking for a place to have supper
• there wasn't a lot of choice, so we settled on "Bailiez Cafe Bar" which looked interesting, and still open
• we were quickly seated, and asked for our order by a charming young woman, speaking with a familiar accent
• when asked, she told us she was from Hamilton, Ontario, not 60 km from our home
• she was travelling the world, between university years, and like a lot of young travellers, she said you can always earn your room and board by waitressing
• after a very nice meal, we headed back to our hotel, and, as there wasn't much on the telly, despite a plethora of satellite channels, went to bed!

Around Queenstown & Area

Sky Line Gondola

• After breakfast, the first order of the day was to ride the Skyline Gondola to the top of Bob's Peak
• the plan was to walk to the gondola bottom station,which on the map was at worst 1 km away from the hotel; and, the concierge at the hotel assured us, was an easy 10 minute walk
• there was a trail, starting right across from the hotel, that would bring us to the road leading to the station after an easy walk through a pleasant forest, so said the concierge
• about 30 minutes later we were still stumbling around on steep uphill, then steep downhill trails, none of them marked, nor on my hand-held GPS
• eventually we switched the GPS to compass navigation, using our destination as an end point, and simply going along trails going in approximately the right direction
• somewhere in this process June twisted an ankle, and we were very glad not longer after to emerge onto an actual city street, which was on the GPS map
• I parked June on a handy wall in front of a house, marked her location on the GPS, and then used it to navigate back to hotel, on city streets
• even that had its moments, as some of the "streets" turned out to be staircases done the steep hill back to lake level, the along that back to the hotel
• eventually picked up the car, and drove back to pick up June
• then we headed downtown, for the first order of business, getting a walking stick; found a Leki "Wanderfreund" collapsible hiking stick in one of the many adventure outfitting stores, and bought two, as I had previously thought of getting one for travel use on off-road trails
• if you don't know Leki, they are a German company that make hiking sticks of all varieties; they are extremely light and very strong (made out of aircraft alloy), and most are collapsible
• the "Wanderfreund" - "hiking friend" is a walking stick with a very comfortable ergonomic cork handle and wrist strap, with spring shock absorber, weighing less than 500 grams, and collapsible down to under 18 inches for packing; it has both a rubber foot for use on city streets, and a tungsten carbide tip for use on rock and hard surfaces, and is considered the Cadillac of hiking sticks
• thus equipped, we headed on, by car, to the downhill station of the Skyline Gondola
• and, we got lucky, with finding the 2nd closest parking spot just vacated
• the ride in a two-person car up to the top station is along a cut through the forest in a natural "dip" with sheep grazing below, gradually revealing more and more of a view of Queenstown and the surrounding land, mostly mountains
• the top station is a very elaborate complex, and not quite at the top of Bob's Peak
• there are several dining venues, lounges where one can sit, enjoy refreshments and the view, and outdoor viewing platform covering almost 360 degrees, and the obligatory gift shop
• to the north is the continuing slope up Bob's Peak
• there is a chair lift that can be taken to the top of the "Peak" but not for skiing, but for a wheeled "bob-sled" run along a paved track - it looked interesting, but, given June's ankle, we passed
• other directions give views of Queenstown and the lake, and the various approaches to and from the city
• prominent in the view is one of A.J. Hackett's (many) bungy venues
• this one is both a simple (one cord) bungy jump, from a platform cantilevered well out from the slope of the mountain, and the possibility of a "swing"  with two bungy cords attached at about 45 degree angles from vertical (you jump off the platform, the cords eventually bring you to equilibrium, and then you can swing by pumping your legs for as long as you want - eventually, they haul you back up with a rope attached to the harness you are wearing)
• after thoroughly exploring the view, we lunched in one of the lounges, enjoying the view, before taking the cable car back downhill, and going on to

Kawarau Bridge (with Bungy) over the Kawarau River

• not too long a drive to the Kawarau River gorge, and the Kawarau Bridge
• built 1878 - 1880, this suspension bridge is memorialized by the Institute of Professional Engineers of New Zealand as a significant part of New Zealand's engineering heritage, creating a vital transportation link for travel and commerce in Central Otago province
• but, in modern New Zealand history, the Kawarau Bridge is the site of A.J. Hackett's first bungy jump
• I have not been able to find sources that would explain why Mr. Hackett thought it was a good idea to tie, effectively, a rubber band to his feet and jump off a bridge, but the result is a uniquely New Zealand sport that has gone around the world
• of course, it has been refined into a science; at this particular site, and at others involving jumping over rivers, the jumper can decide to just dip into the water, or not
• the check-in desk automatically weighs the jumper, and calculates the length of rope in addition to the bungy cord needed to achieve the desired result
• jumping is not cheap; for an adult, the 1st jump is NZ$175, the second, should you be so crazy(?), NZ$60
• we watched a number of people jumping, and one deciding not to jump (there are no refunds), including one pair of French guys who decided to jump roped together
• we couldn't figure out what the incentive for that was, until we noticed the two very attractive young French women cheering them on; ah, testosterone! 
• interesting was how the jumpers were retrieved; after settling down they hag upside down some distance above the river
• a motorized Zodiac maneuvers under them, and they are lowered down by the jumping platform, and pulled into the Zodiac using a hook on a pole; primal, but effective
• after watching the jumpers for a while, we walked across the bridge, and inspected the jumping platform
• it is a highly technical operation, with safety first, and all kinds of checks and balances, to ensure the safety of the jumpers
• but, no way would I do this!
• what is not obvious, unless one has read up on Lord of the Rings film sites, that just beyond the Kawarau Bridge is the fairly brief scene in "The Fellowship of the Rings" of the Gates of Numenor; the scene where the Fellowship is drifting down a river gorge in boats, and comes to two huge statues of ancient kings on each side of the gorge; the statues are inserted digitally, but the rest of the scene is the same
• then a return to our hotel, via some small villages, and a stop for gas and picking up some nutrient bars, as tomorrow's departure will be before breakfast is available
• dinner at the hotel, checking e-mail and posting blogs, then to bed, ready for an early rising and departure

Queenstown, Earnslaw Dinner Cruise to Walter Peak

February 23, 2010
Queenstown Walk-about

• Got up early enough that breakfast was not urgent, so thought we'd get into town, and find it there
• asked the concierge how long it took to walk into downtown, also back, and were told "about 10 minutes" but opted to take the city bus instead
• the hotel has a system of vouchers; your pick up two at the front desk, one takes you into Queenstown, the other brings you back (that somewhat makes up for the outrageous Internet access policy at this hotel)
• so waited, not too long, for a bus just across from the hotel, rode into town, and got off in a central location
• first impressions; Queenstown is very modern, there are not a lot of "old" - more than a few dozen years old - buildings
• those that are, are of the "heritage" type, architechturally significant, and inevitably well maintained
• another impression; this is indeed the sport, and adventure sport, capital of New Zealand - a lot of the businesses along the downtown streets are either booking offices for various activities, bungy (NZ spelling) jumping, jet boating, etc., or sell the equipment for hiking, mountaineering, skiing, etc., or sell upscale clothing for outdoor sports, or sell upscale foods and wines, or, are restaurants
• we quickly located one of the latter, and ordered breakfast, which was scaled to +200 lb. humans about to head out on one of the many physical adventures on offer, the result being that we felt no need throughout this day to find lunch - being quite happy to wait for supper on our dinner cruise
• after breakfast we wandered aroung downtown some more, and eventually found our way to the shores of Lake Wakatipu, a very lively area, with street artists, and more opportunities for sports such as jetboating
• also here was the wharf from which the TSS Earnslaw departs on cruises of the lake;
• TSS = twin screw ship
• meaning, as we learned later in the evening, when we embarked on this vessel, that Earnslaw was coal-fired, steam-driven, by two triple expansion piston steam engines, each driving a separate propellers
• noted the location, and how to get there, as this is where we would be departing from in the early evening
• kept wandering, and found our way to the Queenstown Gardens, a large peninsula jutting out opposite the downtown area
• we had a very pleasant walk around this large park; beautiful groomed gardens, areas with native trees and plants, water features, and even a skatepark, with ramps and obstacles and staircases, and a large sign prohibiting bikes, which did not discourage a yonug man from riding his extreme bike over and around everything
• also, a free indoors ice skating rink, the first we have seen so far
• by this time it was later afternoon, and we decided to walk back to the hotel, rather than taking the bus
• it was a a pleasant walk, but not the 10 minutes that the concierge at the hotel had told us it would be, more like 30 (if you hustled, it could probably be done in 20, but with some straining at the end, a fairly steep uphill path)
• freshened up, packed some fleecies in the pack packs, got another set of bus vouchers from the desk, and rode to the Earnslaw pier for

TSS Earnslaw Dinner Cruise to Walter Peak

• we had pre-booked this, without actually knowing too much about it
• we boarded the Earnslaw with perhaps 250 others, and steamed up the lake, enjoying the views, and if so inclined the drinks, mostly beer, on offer from the bar (we were not so inclined, but enjoyed the views)
• Walter Peak eventually came into view, about 13 km down the lake, and we docked and disembarked (those who had dinner tickets, the others were simply going back to Queenstown)
• Walter Peak is described as a "sheep station" and it was probably that at one time, the home of a "run holder" who grazed thousands of sheep on the mountainside, and lived off the wool, the mutton and the lamb meat.
• today, it lives on tourism; it is not clear if there is still an owner, or if it simply a corporate tourist attraction (I suspect the latter)
• the buildings are immaculate, the grounds are impeccably landscaped, but the main attraction, towards we were encouraged to quickly go, was a very large dining room, seating perhaps 200
• we found a place, introduced ourselves to those at our table, and waited for instructions on what was to happen next
• a waiter showed up, sit brief instructions on how to get food; it was all buffett, there were appetizer, main course, and dessert stations, and we could go up at any time to get any of those, and there were no limits to how often one could go
• but first, did we care to order wine (extra cost over the pre-booked dinner) and he would recommend - naming a red and a white, at special prices (NZ$45 and NZ$40 - quite upscale given the prices one pays in stores
• A lesson or two learned about fine dining; never ask a waiter to recommend either food, or wine; inevitably they will push the stuff the kitchen wants to get rid of, and as for wine, they will push that, or the wine with the most profit margin
• we looked at the wine list (and none of the wines were anything we'd heard of), and, again, lessons learned, if you know none of the wines. do not order the most expensive, nor the 2nd most, nor the two on the bottom - all of which are positions to catch the unwary; go for the middle, and you are likely to get a decent wine at a decent price
• the food, all of it, was excellent, great variety, and, for buffet, very fresh (and so was the wine - not fresh, excellent)
• at some point, I went to use the washroom, got lost, and got to the bar serving area, noted a listing of the wine specials chalked up prominently, but also, a very discreet sign, where I probably shouldn't have noticed it, but I did and photograped it, saying "Try to promote the blackboard specials, as we have to get rid of old stock."  - and the blackboard specials were those the waiter had pushed
• there you have the economics of wine in restaurants - best know what you are ordering, or,if it is all unfamiliar because you are abroad, stay away from the extremes of price (until of course the industry catches on to that, and loads the middle of the wine list with plonk at high price)
• after dinner, there was a sheep dog demonstration, quite entertaining, and a sheep shearing demonstration, not so much, as we had already seen one earlier in the trip
• back onto the Earnslaw, and the cruise back to Queenstown, in a bright moonlit night
• inside, there was a sing-along around a piano, mostly for those who also wanted to sample wares from the bar, but the real magic was outside
• a bright, almost full moon, shining on the lake, and illuminating the hillsides on the shores; in the distance, the light of the town
• when we docked, not that late at night, we decided to walk along the lake, back to our hotel, in the very pleasant, mild, later summer night
• back at the hotel, the usual personal maintenance, check e-mail via the cheap connection at the hotel down the hill, and posting blog stuff.
• tomorrow, more Queenstown exploration, but with a more "extreme" edge