On To Queenstown

Trip Start Feb 08, 2008
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Trip End Mar 10, 2008


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Saturday, February 23, 2008

Today is a full day of travel (by bus) to reach Queenstown by early evening.  So far we are very happy with coach travel.  The buses are clean, in good condition, not too crowded , and for the most part the commentary has been excellent.  Today we travel past the flat plains of Canterbury, through miles and miles of dairy farms, sheep and alpaca ranches.   Sheep ranching is on the decline here, many farmers are switching to cattle, so there is not the multitude of sheep that I was expecting to see.   Our morning stop is the beautiful tranquil Lake Tekapo and its famous landmark of a solitary stone church overlooking the lake.
 
The South Island is also home to many one lane bridges, bridges only wide enough for one  way traffic. Traffic lines up to alternate going across.  There is much less traffic, and the roads here are pretty decent (this is probably where we should have practiced our driving on the left side of the road).
 
We have low cloud cover and some wind this morning so those wanting to do sightseeing flights at our lunch break at Mount Cook might be disappointed Al at Lake Tekapo
Al at Lake Tekapo
 .   We stop at Mount Cook  Village for lunch - a long stop, 1 ˝ hours to allow some passages to take the scenic flight (starts at $320.00).   This little village is a hub for outdoor activity and was the training ground for Edmund Hillary.  Mount Cook at 12, 316 ft is NZ's highest mountain. And this range includes  Tasman and Mount Sefton as well as some major glaciers.   This is also the home of the Sir Edmund Hillary Centre which we passed up to spend some time on the deck (the sun peeked out for awhile).  After lunch we travel through  rolling hills, miles of brown and barren landscape,  eventually giving way to totara forest as we get closer to Queenstown. 
 
We are going to be staying in Queenstown for 3 nights and I am looking forward to being in one place for a few days.  We are staying at the Novotel Resort , which turns out to be right on the lake.  Queenstown is situated  on Lake Wakatipu and is ringed by the Remarkables, a beautiful mountain range.  Queenstown is the biggest tourist draw in NZ as it is billed as NZ's adventure capital.  This is where everyone comes to bungy jump, skydive, sky swing, go up on the gondola or ride on the jet boats.  Skiing is a big draw in winter. It is all here.  The town is compact and easy to navigate, with souvenir shops right next to designer stores.  Its main streets are wall to wall restaurants and bars and everyone is having a good time.   We find a wonderful café called the Vudu Café for seafood, salad and wine - perfect.  I love the vibe of this place, lots to see and do.  We are still being dogged by overcast weather and it is a cool night here in Queenstown but we stay out late enjoying the boardwalk.
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