Wanaka to Queenstown

November 17th Wanaka to Queenstown

Well a low key morning to start but a beautiful one at that. I find myself just watching the mountains and having no worries in the world, the perfect way to be when on holiday. As I toured around Wanaka, a cute little town on the lake I made friends of course with fellow travelers, Margaret & John from Scotland, a 60 something couple touring NZ on the Magic with me after completing Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos & will be continuing on to Dubai before making it home to Scotland for the holidays. Great people and so generous. Sitting at the lake, I watched & was marveled by the weather on how you could see the rain coming in over the mountains & seem to slowly taunt you as it approached. But before it even got to the lake the blue sky was right behind it ready to take the gloom of the rain away before it even reached us. Truly amazing to watch & be in the middle of. While at the lake, at the end of the pier (yep, there is only one pier) you could see massive 3-4 foot eels & big rainbow trout with the brightest of red from mouth to tail. They were hoping to get fed & so were the ducks.

Once we finally got picked up by our bus we carried on to the party place of Queenstown. On the way we passed through more rugged lands with a more rustic feeling as well as green hills, sheep farms (but of course!), trees & vineyards with names of Banockburn & Anthem wineries. & I know I have said it before but the hills feel like you could just reach out & touch the peaks or climb them by just a hop, skip & a jump. Also the vegetation changes so quickly from one town to the next, along with its weather. It was interesting to see the sheep way up high on the hills, & even some mountain goats on the lower hills & the 4WD tracks that the farmers use for mustering, a whole different aspect to farming. Oh and the names of places here in the south are just as interesting…. Like Roaring Meg, Cow Cliff & Frankton,

Because we were so late, we just briefly stopped in to check out the Kawarau bridge over the Kawarau River, the original old rickety bridge that AJ Hackett used to start his bungy jump company. But don’t worry I will hopefully have a bungy jump experience to report on the next blog 

Capped off my day in settling in to the bustling town of Queenstown, along Lake Wakatipu with the Remarkables mountain range in the background. The TSS Earnslaw, a 1900s steamboat used to reach the Walter Peak station at the base of the lake, had the most perfect timing for me to catch it while taking in the scenic views along the lakefront path. I toured the ‘downtown core’, if you can call it that. But things are actually open here in Queenstown past 5pm, some up to 10pm!! Oh these crazy, partying Qtowners! I enjoyed a great burger from one of the world’s best burger joints, Ferg burger. I would have to agree & it felt like a meal & a half. I walked it off by looking around Queenstown & looking at planning some activities here for the next couple days.

Will let you know what crazy stuff I get up to here, it will be all about trying to not spend money, as it seems quite possible to blow a lot in the short time one does stay here. 



Points to Ponder

l I can see why people get this so called travel bug but I certainly am happy that I am taking the time to see NZ at the pace I want to do it & not have to get up & on the bus each & every morning. It has been nice to settle into each place a little more & discover the must see & do things. Is it also possible that I have finally figured out how my nursing degree & minor in geography could & should combine….. haha for traveling of course!