New Zealand 2018 - Part 9

 October 16, 2018 – Tuesday –

Up early again today for the long (9hrs) drive to Queenstown. We drove past the Fox Glacier, LakeMatheson, Knights Point along the Tasman Sea. The scenery was beautiful. We took a short detour off highway 6, just before the Haast pass to the Curly Tree-White Bait Company. www.curlytreewhitebait.com  This is an interesting experience, Whitebait is a very, very small fish that is almost clear. There is a stand on the property where they make Whitebait pancakes for visitors. (Newsflash – the company has been sold and is moving to Nelson. Sorry readers you won’t get to experience whitebait from this company unless you go to Nelson which is not a stop on this tour.)   We then travel across Haast pass, to LakeHwea, LakeWanake where we stopped for lunch, then headed across the CrownRange and into Queenstown. The roads are very curvy and I am happy that Michael is not driving so that he can enjoy the magnificent scenery without having to concentrate on driving.

 We are staying two nights at Peppers Beacon Hotel https://www.peppers.co.nz/beacon which is walking distance to downtown. It is lovely. Our room was small but well appointed with a great view of Lake Wakatipu.  I’d trade a big room for a beautiful view anytime. We walked into town for dinner thinking we were all meeting Di where she had made a reservation. Here is where WhatsApp came in handy. The restaurant had us down for tomorrow, we were not all coming from the hotel and none of the other restaurants could handle all of us. We used WhatsApp to coordinate other dinner arrangements. We decided to split up into smaller groups. We went with one of the couples to a place called “Winnies-Gourmet Pizza Bar” www.winnies.co.nz which was very good. Be advised it is on the second floor with no elevator.

October 17, 2018 – Wednesday - Queenstown

Today is adventure activities day in the Adventure Capital of the World. So many choices, but be prepared for spending lots of money. Activities can cost anywhere from $52 for a single ride on the gondola luge combination upwards to $500 or more. Because of a history of back and neck surgeries, it was recommended that Michael and I not go on the Shotover Jet Boat ride but to go to the www.dartriver.co.nz Dart River Jet Boat and 4 wheel drive bus adventure as it was a “gentle” adventure. The jet boat was not too bumpy and the views were spectacular. Our 4-wheel drive bus took us around the Te Waipounamu World Heritage Area that includes a forest where parts of “Lord of the Rings” and the “Hobbit” series were filmed. The adventure was definitely worth the $250pp. Others in our group went horseback riding, skydiving, quad biking, canyon swing, gondola, and luge and/or indoor skydiving in addition to the Shotover Jet Boat.  It was an exciting day for everyone. Interestingly, it was noted that the guest laundry facility was free. Many of us had wet clothes to wash and/or dry before leaving tomorrow morning. We all met for dinner at an Asian restaurant in the downtown where we shared stories about our different adventures of the day. One of the discussions was about who had been to a Mrs, Ferg’s café There are three, two Gelaterias and one burger restaurant. The gelaterias had a steady stream of customers but, the restaurant was always overflowing with people waiting for tables or take-with order. We went to the gelateria. The gelato was delicious and we were able to see the gelato being made. Those that had been to Fergburger said that it had been worth the wait. https://www.fergburger.com  https://m.facebook.com/MrsFergGelateria

 October 18, 2018 –Thursday – Doubtful Sound

Our drive from Queenstown to Doubtful Sound for our all day cruise started early with a boxed breakfast supplied by the hotel.  We drove to Manapouri. From there we took a ferry across LakeManapouri to another bus to take us across the WilmotPass to Deep Cove where we boarded the Petea Explorer www.realjourneys.co.nz a modern catamaran to tour Doubtful Sound. This sound is also named Patea, which means ‘place of silence’. The WilmotPass is so far New Zealand’s most expensive road to build and is very curvy. It is the only road not connected directly to the national network of roads. We traveled into several fingers of the sound and out to the ocean. We saw a single cabin on one of the islands in the sound and a rock outcropping where we saw seals playing and sunbathing. The vegetation was lush and the waterfalls beautiful. The naturalist gave a running description of what we were seeing and the history of the sound. After returning to Manapouri we drove to the town of Te Anau where we stayed the night.

 October 19, 2018 – Friday Drive to Twizel via Mt.Cook

Our first stop of the day was the Te Anau Bird Sanctuary. Admission is free with no guide. A small fee is charged for a guided tour. Some birds are in aviaries others roam freely. The sanctuary is located in a lovely park that has picnic tables and bathroom facilities. The area is very low key. We spent about a half hour but could have easily spent more time and had a lovely picnic. https://www.doc.govt.nz/teanaubirdsanctuary 

 We next watched bungy jumping off the KawaraSuspension Bridge at the AJ Hackett facility. The facility is a work of art, even the signs for the bathrooms reflect the adventurous nature of where you are. We watched from the viewing deck. All I can say is “Scary” https://www.bungy.co.nz

Lindis Pass is yet another mountain pass in the Southern Alps that we will transverse. This one sits between Cromwell on the south and Omarama to the north and is on our way to Mt.Cook. The scenery is wonderful and again I am thankful that we ore being driven by someone familiar with the road so Michael can enjoy the scenery instead of me telling him to “watch the road” and “slow down on the curves”.  

 Finally, we arrive at the Mt Cook visitor’s center and for most of the group the start of a scenic climb to a summit where there is a lake. Two of us stayed back. I stayed at the visitor’s center and spent time looking at the exhibits and taking photos of the mountain. My teammate found a comfy place at the hotel next to the visitor’s center to nurse an old knee injury that was acting up. The reports from those who climbed were that the lake was beautiful and was worth the climb, www.mtcookguides.co.nz  Twizel is our goal for tonight.

 October 20, 2018 – Saturday – Back to Christchurch

 We had another long ride today. The scenery is beautiful. Di gave us a break in the afternoon in the town of Geraldine. www.geraldine.nz  The downtown was busy with tourists and residents. There were lots of cafes and souvenir shops. A clothing store that only sold “made in New Zealand” clothing caught my eye so we went in and we bought a pair of wool socks. There is also a historical museum that is free to visit. Geraldine sits at the foot of the Southern Alps and is central to South Canterbury. It is the gateway to the lakes in central Mackenzie Basin and the beginning of the Starlight Highway to Tekapo’s world-renowned UNESCO Aoraki McKenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. www.geraldine.nz

 We arrived in Christchurch in mid-afternoon and dropped our luggage at our lodging for the night, “All-Stars Inn on Bealey” a Hostel/hotel. www.allstarsinn.com It was surprisingly nice and we did have private rooms with bathrooms. After checking in we had time to explore Christchurch in the van and then Di let us off to take the trolley around the downtown where we saw the construction still going on from the 2011 earthquake. It is sad to see the destruction still sitting but heartwarming to see that so much rebuilding is happening. Christchurch is a great area to use a “base camp” for all the activities close by as well as day tours in the surrounding areas. www.christchurchnz.com

 Tonight was our last dinner together. Di had us play a game where earlier in the day we had each picked a name from a container and we had to write something describing the person and the rest of us needed to guess who the person was. It was lots of fun to hear what things made our teammates memorable to each of us.  Di gave us all cards and memento gifts. We finally recorded our Maori song to send to Imagine Dragons. We will miss our group as we continue our travels and fly to Perth, Australia early tomorrow morning. 

 ***Michael and I joined Goldrush Getaways Travel Agency, as independent travel consultants, in May of 2017. We have been low key until now (January 2019), testing the waters with domestic travel and taking many classes. This is the third big trip for us and each has been a total success!!! We are now ready to actively help others with their travel needs. Contact us at 410-929-1732 or mytravelinglady@gmail.com