Wineries and Countryside!

Because Queenstown is such a popular tourist hot-spot, and our Easter break corresponded with everyone else's breaks (because, you know, our Easter corresponded with everyone else's Easters), we couldn't find a reasonably-priced flight out of Queenstown. Thus, Lydia and I decided to book our return out of Christchurch, and then rent a car to get there. Sunday was dedicated to the seven-hour drive, a few nice wineries, and some time spent admiring the countryside.

This was displayed in front of the first winery we checked out ... possibly the best part of the winery, actually. The wine was ok, but the tasting was a bit awkward, as we were just standing at the bar with another group of travellers, who monopolized the attention and conversation of the winery owner. We moved on quite quickly.

The second winery was a bit more what we expected - a selection of wines, with descriptions, for a small fee. Delish! PLUS, this winery was attached to a CHEESERY, which gave us lots of samples. I brought back a small block of pinot noir-soaked cheddar ... still in my fridge, begging to be eaten!

We stopped for lunch at our third (and final) winery, and enjoyed our food and wine by a beautiful duck pond. We were lunching a bit later than normal, so we had the place to ourselves ... a nicely relaxing break from the drive!

Gorgeous, right? This was a substantial percentage of the countryside, actually, but it never got old.

Kawarau Bridge!

The pictures kind of speak for themselves ... I especially like my utter lack of grace. As soon as I shuffled to the edge of the platform, someone started counting down from five. And as the well-trained soldier that I apparently am, as soon as he said "one!", I jumped. Without having fully thought about what I was doing or how I was doing it. The result: an oddly catlike pose, like I'm trying to land on all fours. Good time, glad I did it, ready to do more!! (Sorry, Mom.)

For the record, it's not terror so much as confusion on my face. He said, "Look over there!" and pointed in the general direction of the river bank ... I thought I was actually looking for someone, not smiling for a hidden camera.

Milford Sound Cruise

Though we wanted nothing more than hot showers (or maybe I'm just speaking for myself ...), the 1:20 bus that met us wasn't taking us back to our hostel in Queenstown. At least, not yet. First, we were driving to catch a 3:15 ferry at Milford Sound for a bit more sightseeing. The Sound (which, the bus driver AND the ferry driver informed us, is in fact a fiord) is well-known as a sight worth seeing in NZ, so I guess I can't complain too much. At least we got to sit down for awhile!

There are literally hundreds of waterfalls like this on in the Sound. For this reason, some people say it's best to visit during or immediately after a heavy rainfall, because the falls are all HUGE! I was pretty happy about the nice weather, though.

I don't think I've ever been so happy about free tea in my life. And Tim seems pretty content too.

There's something VERY cool about the way clouds cling to mountaintops in this country. The Maori name for New Zealand, Aotorea, means "Land of the Long White Cloud" ... it definitely fits.

Apparently, there are sometimes dolphins in the Sound, but our only wildlife sighting was this group of seals. It wasn't a colony, because apparently they're all male seals - I don't know what that makes this. A bachelor pad?

Routeburn, Day 3

This is our last view of Peter, who had an 11:00 AM bus to catch but decided to walk as far as he could with us on our 1:20 PM bus-catching schedule. About 10:10, he conceded and RAN down the rest of the mountain. And made his bus. (There's a hut about an hour before the end of the hike, and someone there mentioned that he'd seen "that tall Danish guy" running by - we're pretty sure he ran the remaining 7 km or so, with his pack, up and down mountainside paths!)

Finished! Not that I didn't have a great time, but I think you can tell I'm ready for a shower and a real bed ... We took fewer pictures this day, because we were on something of a schedule - and because nothing could beat the scenery of the day before. But we DID learn that, with our cameras securely stored in our pockets, we actually beat the DOC estimates with ease!

Routeburn, Day 2

Dawn of day two - beautiful, clear, and cold, which was EXACTLY what we'd been hoping for.

Today's trailhead - yes, the trail is, at the beginning, rock. Which is especially exciting when said rock is covered in ice!

An outside view of the DOC hut we stayed in the night before. Decent accommodation, including gas burners and flush toilets. And, in theory, lights until 10 PM, although it seems someone forgot that the weekend before was daylight savings ...

Peter taking a nap before we head off ... we got a later start than we anticipated.

These are the emergency shelters at Harris Saddle. Because most of day 2 is above the treeline, these shelters are set up for dangerous weather that prevents trampers from continuing. It's also the start point for a side trip up Conical Peak, a very snowy peak that we nevertheless decided to climb because the DOC sign said that it was a one-hour return trip. We apparently hadn't figured out that those estimates rarely apply to us ... Nonetheless, 90 minutes later, we made it to the top - and the views were SPECTACULAR!

Apparently, there's not a lot of snow in Cape Town, so Tim insisted on building a snowman before we headed back down.

Back on the main trail TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER, we stopped for a quick lunch and then carried on. The path was mainly clear, level and windy, and of course the views still amazing.

And not ALL of the ice had melted, even by 2:30 in the afternoon.

This is pretty representative of the path for a good hour or so. As Jamie said, "I don't think an obese person could make this hike. They might fall right of the mountain!"

This is the first view of our hut for the night, nestled at the upper right corner of Lake McKenzie. Of course, it was another hour before we made it down there ...

Finished another day! All a bit sunburned, but happy to be next to the fire and done for a few hours ...