TSS Earnslaw/Walter Peak

Our plan today was for a slow morning and that was what we did. Every once and awhile on our trips together, Gayle hits the wall and needs a rest day so her back can recover.  Today was that day.  After I ate breakfast in the hotel I called an Uber and headed down to the waterfront.  We were booked for a 1 p.m. trip on the TSS Earnslaw, the oldest working, full-sized fire-tubed boiler in New Zealand, in other words a coal-fired steamship.

I headed out early so I could experience the waterfront.  It has the typical tourist shops and brand name stores.  There are also amazing restaurants, street musicians and lovely scenery. A statue of William Gilbert Rees graces the waterfront.  He was an early settler here in the Wakatipu basin and is regarded as the founder of Queenstown.  We are staying in the Rees Hotel.

Because I was there early I got to see the truck loaded with coal arrive and at the appointed time dump the coal onto the boat while three men shoveled it down to the boiler room of the boat.

At the appointed time we queued up for our trip on the steamship.  It is a large ship.  There is a lot to keep you interested as you travel along the lake.  You can watch the men stoke the fire with coal, 

or order drinks at the bar and listen to this lovely man sing songs by John Denver, Elton John, Simon and Garfunkel, Ed Sheeran and more, 

or stand on the front deck and freeze, 

or just people watch.  Most of us were headed for the Walter Peak High Country Farm.

Some people were there to enjoy a delicious BBQ lunch. Some of them came to ride horses.  I was with the group that was going on a farm tour.  Our first stop was to see the kunekune pigs.  The name “kunekune” means “fat and round” in the Maori language.

Then we got to feed the donkeys. They were so much fun.

We fed the cattle next.  I loved the fluffy cows called Highland cattle.

There are two alpacas on the farm….

And lots and lots of sheep.

After our tour to feed the animals we were served afternoon tea.  Then we all headed back outside for the farm show.  Our guide showed us how to sheer a sheep.  She did an amazing job but I found it hard not to feel sorry for the sheep.

Then we saw a sheepdog do its job of herding sheep.

The grounds at Walter Peak are lovely.  As we waited for our return trip on the TSS Earnslaw I wandered through their gardens.  I have never before seen this color of hydrangea.

We were all loaded back onto the boat for the trip back to Queenstown. The view of the Remarkables mountain range from the boat was gorgeous.  New Zealand is so beautiful.  It was very, very cold today, however.

Once we returned to the dock I decided to walk over to the Queenstown Gardens.  I am so impressed that gardens in New Zealand are free.  What a lovely, civilized country.

I was hungry by then.  Our afternoon tea, while lovely, did not fill me up.  I headed to Fergburger.  Before every trip with Gayle I create a Google sheet of possible places to eat in every city we visit.  Fergburger was on my list.  There is a lot of hype about this place that advertises itself as a gourmet burger stop.  It is notorious for long lines that move quickly.  I got in line.

While I waited for my burger, fries and onion rings (why not try it all) I saw the couple Gayle and I rode with on the helicopter ride back from Milford Sound.  Time went by quickly as we talked about rugby.  I didn’t even have to wait 15 minutes for my food.  I had a lovely Uber driver return me back to the hotel.  The food was still warm by the time I got to our room.  The hamburger was okay.  I am a huge fan of an In-n-Out burger and nothing ever seems to equal it for me.  Gayle and I shared onion rings and French fries as we updated each other on our days.

Arrowtown

After I crawled in bed last night I got a message from my friend Jacki that she had an alert that the aurora was visible in Queenstown.  Gayle and I rushed out onto our balcony in our nightgowns to see if we could see it.  I got this photo.  It wasn’t as glorious as photos I have seen but I still thought it was cool.

I woke up this morning with a full on cold.  I have been feeling it coming on for a few days.  We took this morning slowly.  We have been going solidly for several days and it felt good to enjoy this lovely apartment overlooking the lake.

Our plan for today was to go to Arrowtown, situated not far from Queenstown along the Arrow River.   It is a historical gold mining town.  It boasts many historical buildings from that era, including the huts that Chinese settlers were forced to live in on the edge of town.  Now it has become a beautiful place to visit, especially during the Fall.  Keep New Zealand Beautiful named it “the most beautiful small town” in 2020.  They are having their annual autumn festival this weekend and we are wanted to find out if Arrowtown is as lovely as people say.

On the way we stopped at Ayrburn, just outside of Arrowtown.  Sitting on the site of the first farm in the area, a multi-venue destination has been created using protected heritage buildings.  We were headed to the Bakehouse Restaurant for brunch.  We just couldn’t bring ourselves to eat in the restaurant called The Manure Room.  There is a lovely canopy leading to the front door of the Bakehouse.  

We opted to sit inside because it is very chilly here right now.  We enjoyed our eggs Benedicts and left with a baguette to enjoy in our room later.  The grounds are lovely with sculptures dotting the place.  We didn’t stay long because we were eager to see if Arrowtown in the Fall is really the place to be.

The town was packed.  All weekend there have been events:  parade, music, dog show, duck races, etc.  We actually found a parking spot on Buckingham Street, the main thoroughfare, and walked up the length of the town and back, poking our heads into the shops.  This street is a historic area with seven of the houses here having mostly unaltered exteriors from the 1870s.

Some crazy crocheter has decorated almost every surface they can find on Buckingham Street.

In 1862, gold was discovered in the Arrowtown River and soon there were 800 miners there.  In the 1870s, Chinese settlers were invited to come to help prop up the collapsing economy after European miners left. By 1871, Chinese outnumbered the Europeans in the gold fields in the area.  At one point there were 7,000 miners living in Arrowtown.  Even though the Chinese were invited they were not welcomed.  They were forced to live in huts down by the creek.  I toured the remains of the Chinese Settlement.

In 2002, the government of New Zealand formally apologized to the Chinese community for legal discrimination towards early Chinese settlers.  The settlement here in Arrowtown is now part of a national reconciliation process.

As we were driving around this little town we saw a cemetery up on the hill.  I love to visit cemeteries.  I climbed up to the top of the hill of the cemetery and took this photo of the town and its fall colors.

We had a late lunch/early dinner reservation at Mora Winery.  I convinced Gayle that we couldn’t make a reservation at a winery and not taste the wine.  I can’t drink and continue rational thought so Gayle took one for the team.

We ordered only sides:  fresh bread with truffle butter, roasted potatoes with chipotle mayo and broccolini.  It hit the spot.   

Since I’m not well and Gayle’s back is bothering here we were excited to get back to our lovely apartment on the lake.  We took naps and called it a day.

Milford Sound

Gayle and I were picked up from our hotel this morning at 7:30 in a glass-roof Mercedes Sprinter to head to Milford Sound.  It was raining and the forcast promised a whole day of rain in Milford Sound, which is a five hour car journey from Queenstown.  There were twelve of us on the van with the lovely guide and driver, Geena.  Geena spends half the year doing this tours and the other half of the year she splits between Queenstown and Whistler, Canada where she sky dives strapped to a tourist’s back.  

I was disappointed that it was raining.  I was sure there would be little for us to see as we cruised Milford Sound. Geena assured us that the best days at Milford Sound are the rainy days because it creates spontaneous waterfalls throughout the area.  Five hours in a van with strangers is a bit of a long day, but there were beautiful things to see and we made several stops.  There were rainbows, waterfalls and rain forests to look at.  We stopped in Te Anau for some coffee and fruit and a bit of respite.

The weather was dreadful but Geena gave us wonderful commentary about farming, Maori stories, wildlife, etc.  Eventually we arrived in Milford Sound at the marina.  This is our boat for our tour of Milford Sounds.

When we got on we learned that this boat was just for the twelve of us from the sprinter van.  We had watched other huge boats pack people on.  We were going to be living the good life.  We had a table waiting where we would be served a gourmet meal, in which most everything was sourced from the South Island.  So while we passed waterfalls and wildlife and mountains, we were served eight magnificent dishes plated to perfection.  Neither of us were fans of the deer tartare or the Titi croquette but the wapiti bone broth, the Mt. Cook Alpine caviar and the smoked eel were exceptional.  

Meanwhile we were traveling past incredible beauty.  Geena was right that rain creates so many waterfalls.  It turns out it rains here 220 days out of the year.

We were free to get up at anytime and move outside on the decks to see the beauty surrounding us.  The rain stopped and the sun came out and with it even more rainbows appeared.

We passed a baby fur seal with one of its parents.  I knew how special this must have been when the skipper stopped the boat and all the staff came up to ooh and aah.

The skipper pulled us over to Stirling waterfall and invited us all to the front of the boat to get misted by the falls.  We were promised if we did so we would wake up tomorrow10 years younger.  I was game.  I didn’t last very long.  I came back inside to the waiting towel before my younger fellow tourists. Maybe I’ll only get five years younger.

Gayle and I had prebooked our return trip from Milford Sound on a small plane.  We didn’t really want to spend another 5 hours in a sprinter van if we could get home a different way.  We knew that weather could possibly cancel our plane flight home.  As we the rain stopped and the sun came out we got hopeful that a plane ride was in our future.  Geena met us at the dock and said she had good news.  While the plane flight home was cancelled we could choose to throw some money at it and travel back to Queenstown by helicopter.  I have been in a helicopter once before.  Gayle and I flew over the Columbia Icefields in Canada.  I was terrified the whole time.  But when it came to the choice between 5 more hours in the van and a helicopter ride, the decision was easy.

I was frightened.  I grabbed Gayle’s hand or knee every time we encountered some turbulence but the flight was magnificent as we passed glaciers and glacial lakes.

Halfway into the flight our pilot landed on top of a small ridge, overlooking Lake Wakatipu.  This is the longest lake in New Zealand and the one Gayle and I see from our hotel balcony.  What an absolute treat to land here and get out to look around.

For the second half of the flight the pilot moved some of us from the back seat to the front seat.  What a treat to experience the Southern Alps from the front seat of a helicopter.

We were back in our hotel room before 5 p.m., hours earlier than those in the sprinter van.  The world is such a beautiful place and I am so grateful I got to revel in it today.  Gayle and I collapsed onto the couch in our hotel, overlooking Lake Wakatipu, turned on the fireplace and enjoyed a clear sky view.

To Queenstown

We woke up in time to see another beautiful sunrise at Skyscape.

We took our time getting ready.  We have about a three hour drive today and the check-in at the Rees Hotel in Queenstown isn’t until 3 p.m. However, as I mentioned earlier, the glass makes certain times of the day at Skyscape less desirable.  When I saw Gayle sitting on the bed with her sunglasses on I asked if maybe we shouldn’t head out.

Our travel agent told we should get gas before we head out today and, of course, we also need our flat whites.  On the way to run these errands we found a farmer herding his two runaway cows back home.  He did not look pleased.

We have a day trip to Wanaka planned for when we are in Queenstown.  Everyone has told us not to miss Wanaka.  We decided that since we have time today we would make a detour to Wanaka on the way and save our Wanaka day for a different adventure.  It started raining shortly before we arrived in Wanaka. It appears that Wanaka is a tourist destination.  Every shop you can possibly imagine is down near the lakefront.  Once we found parking we hopped out and looked around.

I am sure it is drop dead gorgeous here when the sun is out and you can see the Southern Alps in the distance.  It wasn’t bad today but I am sure it is way more stunning on a different day.

We didn’t dilly dally here.  We headed for Queenstown down the Cardrona Valley Road.  This is Gayle’s second time to New Zealand.  She came with her sons and their spouses back in 2000.  While in Queenstown, Gayle rented a car and drove to Wanaka to talk to Sir Tim Wallis.  He raised red deer for their antlers (velvet).  Gayle and her husband were doing the same but by raising elk.  She took the Cardrona Valley Road up from Queenstown.  I mentioned that Gayle is afraid of heights.  Actually, she has what is called cremnophobia, the fear of cliffs.  Specifically when driving on a steep road with a cliff plummeting down the side she is afraid she will have the urge to steer the car off the edge.  The first time she told me about this fear we were in South Africa and she was the one driving alongside a steep cliff! Since then I have learned that this fear is actually quite common.

Back in 2000 when she had made an appointment to visit Sir Tim Wallis she discovered that the Cardrona Valley Road was a dirt road with no guardrails. Her cremnophobia kicked in big time.  She saw a hitchhiker on the side of the road and immediately pulled over.  She told him, “I will give you a lift if you drive the car.”  I guffaw every time I think about this scenario.  I can only laugh because she is still alive and the hitchhiker she picked up turned out to be a lovely man and even invited her to have dinner with his family.  

So here we are on that same road only now it is paved and has guardrails, which helps, but it is terribly steep and it was raining.  Gayle got lightheaded.  Luckily, I was the one driving.  When she wasn’t reminding herself to breathe, she took this photo of the navigation screen.

We made one stop along the Cardrona  Valley Road at the Bra Fence.  Back in 1998 people passing by began to leave bras on a fence in Cardrona.  Eventually the number of bras grew to hundreds.  It became a tourist attraction, which delighted some residents and embarrassed others.  When it was discovered that the fence was actually on a public road reserve the local Council deemed the bra fence a traffic hazard and eyesore and ordered the bras removed.

In 2014, a local couple decided to take guardianship of the fence and shifted it to their private driveway, about 100 meters from where it was originally.  A pink sign and a collection box were installed for help raise funds for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.  The bra fence is now called “Bradrona”. They have raised over $180,000.  

Since Gayle and I are on our “We Survived Breast Cancer Treatment” trip we had to stop.  Gayle had brought a bra to add to the fence.  I threw all my bras away after I had a double mastectomy. 

We made it to Queenstown and checked into the luxury hotel, which will be our home for the next five nights. We have a two bedroom, two bathroom lake view apartment.  It really is lovely, with heated floors and our own washer and dryer. 

We relaxed for a brief time before we called an Uber and went to the Skyline gondolas.  We have a reservation to eat at the Stratosfare restaurant at the top of the hill.  It is so like us to meticulously plan our trips only to have rain ruin the views.  But we had already paid for this adventure.

Dinner was a huge buffet with everything from green lipped mussels to Waygu beef to sushi to Yorkshire pudding to passion fruit panna cotta.  The view was truly amazing.

After we had been there for an hour the manager came over to inform us that we were allowed 90 minutes in the restaurant and we had a half hour left.  We already knew that and weren’t planning to stay past our allotted time, but because she gave us a half hour warning, we made sure to use up all 90 minutes of our time.  Gayle is more of a rebel than I am.  I think she wanted to stay until they escorted us out.  It was dusk when we left the restaurant.

We took our Uber home and prepared ourselves for our 7:20 a.m. pick up tomorrow for Milford Sound.