Thursday, September 2, 2010
Update on "the Blog"
We did make it home safely to Florida after a long day of flying and waiting. It's taken a couple of days to figure out which timezone we are in.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Queenstown - Day 1, Part 2
We spent the afternoon on our first day in Queenstown taking in some more sights. We took the Gondola to the top of the mountain for a look around.
Lou's snapping photos and I'm hiding in the corner of the Gondola...
We made it to the top - a nice visitor's facility and a cafe.
Some views from the top. First, the classic postcard shot:
The TSS Earnslaw was out on it's second run for the day ...
Another nice view:
They have some concrete "luge" paths above the Gondola station - it looked like fun.
Caught a pic of Lou going up for his Luge run (sure ...)
Time to head back down the mountain. Is Lou snoozing again???
Oops - no, I think he's just visualizing himself on the Bungy Jump platform.
We survived the Gondola ride and went for a walk through town. We saw a few of these crazy rental vans around New Zealand -
Decided to have an early dinner. We have now sampled Mexican food in Bali, Australia, and New Zealand. Bali wins. Sombrero's was fine, but not exactly authentic ( surprise?)...
Strolling down the mall area ...
Thought of Mij and Beau when we came upon this ol' guy at the pub.
The view from our balcony at night:
Queenstown - Day 1, Part 1
We were on our own for Day 1 in Queenstown. After sleeping in, we checked out the view from the deck of our room. Got lucky again - the room exceeded expectations (good value for hotel and food in New Zealand). We had a nice view of Lake Wakatipu - one of the largest lakes in the country, over 80 KM long.
The hotel was set up with one bedroom suites - perfect for a ski trip. Queenstown hosts 3 popular ski areas. We were told there are 10k residents, and usually at least 30K tourists in town.
The town reminded us of Mammoth or any other US ski town - lots of restaurants, hotels, and a crowded downtown area. Queenstown has the advantage of sitting on the beautiful lake.
On our agenda for the day was a cruise across the lake in the TSS Earnslaw, an old Steamship that is one of the major tourist attractions in town. Fortunately, it was a great day for a cruise.
Check out the guy at the front of the boat. He was walking all around, narrating his video of the ship and the cruise. OK, it was nice - but who in their right mind wants to watch an hour long video of a slow boat on a lake? He also had the knack for being in the way of many scenic shots :) (and yes, I imagine I was guilty of that many times as well)
A little jetboat action. Queenstown is well known for extreme sports - jetboating, bungy jumping, and more. Apparently jetboating on the lake is for wimps - I tried to get Lou to go to the Shotover River, but he wasn't having any of that.
A view of the hotel complex as we cruised by.
And, a few shots from the cruise - we spent about 45 minutes crossing the lake, let some people off, and then cruised back.
Oops ... a shot of the mountains (almost)
Here's the mountains ... I'm beginning to feel as though these guys are following us around New Zealand.
One downside to Coal Fired Steam Power :)
.
Yep - my buddy again.
Our destination - the Walter Peak farm. You can get off here and visit the farm and have lunch. We opted to head back to town for Part 2 of our Day 1 in Queenstown adventures.
The weather held for us, and we had a relaxing cruise back (we did not participate in the "sing-along" held in the salon - although Lou would have had to hold me back if Delta Dawn had been on the list).
We were lucky to have such great weather - cold but clear. Easy to see why Queenstown is popular in both winter and summer.
The hotel was set up with one bedroom suites - perfect for a ski trip. Queenstown hosts 3 popular ski areas. We were told there are 10k residents, and usually at least 30K tourists in town.
The town reminded us of Mammoth or any other US ski town - lots of restaurants, hotels, and a crowded downtown area. Queenstown has the advantage of sitting on the beautiful lake.
On our agenda for the day was a cruise across the lake in the TSS Earnslaw, an old Steamship that is one of the major tourist attractions in town. Fortunately, it was a great day for a cruise.
Check out the guy at the front of the boat. He was walking all around, narrating his video of the ship and the cruise. OK, it was nice - but who in their right mind wants to watch an hour long video of a slow boat on a lake? He also had the knack for being in the way of many scenic shots :) (and yes, I imagine I was guilty of that many times as well)
A little jetboat action. Queenstown is well known for extreme sports - jetboating, bungy jumping, and more. Apparently jetboating on the lake is for wimps - I tried to get Lou to go to the Shotover River, but he wasn't having any of that.
A view of the hotel complex as we cruised by.
And, a few shots from the cruise - we spent about 45 minutes crossing the lake, let some people off, and then cruised back.
Oops ... a shot of the mountains (almost)
Here's the mountains ... I'm beginning to feel as though these guys are following us around New Zealand.
One downside to Coal Fired Steam Power :)
Yep - my buddy again.
Our destination - the Walter Peak farm. You can get off here and visit the farm and have lunch. We opted to head back to town for Part 2 of our Day 1 in Queenstown adventures.
The weather held for us, and we had a relaxing cruise back (we did not participate in the "sing-along" held in the salon - although Lou would have had to hold me back if Delta Dawn had been on the list).
We were lucky to have such great weather - cold but clear. Easy to see why Queenstown is popular in both winter and summer.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Coach Tour - Christchurch to Mt. Cook to Queenstown
Apologies for the delay in postings ... my laptop decided to stop working, and Lou and I are sharing - plus we've seen so much beautiful scenery, we have too many photos to sort through!
We took a 10+ hour Coach Ride from Christchurch to Queenstown, stopping in Mt. Cook for lunch. As usual, the trip starts in farm country with the mountains in the background, then moves further up into the mountains before heading back to the valley. The turquoise lakes are due to silt from the glaciers. We experienced sunshine, rain, and snow during the trip.
Lots of photos here - we were on that bus for a LONG TIME. Fortunately, there were only about 15 people on the tour with us (predominantly Japanese tourists - New Zealand seems to be a popular destination).
We saw lots of sheep, but not too many lambs - probably just a week or two early.
This is a very famous church alongside the lake on the way to Mt. Cook. Could easily spend a few hours here taking photos - unfortunately, it was raining when we made our stop.
We made one of our "rest" stops in the little town of Geraldine. A good thing about the coach tour is they stop about every 90 minutes or so for a quick break.
The coach was quite comfortable - and there were lots of extra seats. Made it easy to hop back and forth to catch the sights on either side.
We circled the lake (have to look up the name), so lots of different views.
You can see it's snowing at Mt. Cook. We never did actually see Mt. Cook, but that's common in the winter as it gets fogged in easily. This was another area worth a longer visit.
Don't ever say I don't put photos of me in these blogs ...
Lou found some more ducks (birds?)
On the way from Mt. Cook to Queenstown ...
It started to get dark, so there were fewer photo opportunities for the last couple hours of the journey. Most people slept the last leg of the journey.
About 45 minutes outside of Queenstown now - lots of new wineries in this area.
Coming into Queenstown - this is the beginning of Lake Wakatipu.
We took a 10+ hour Coach Ride from Christchurch to Queenstown, stopping in Mt. Cook for lunch. As usual, the trip starts in farm country with the mountains in the background, then moves further up into the mountains before heading back to the valley. The turquoise lakes are due to silt from the glaciers. We experienced sunshine, rain, and snow during the trip.
Lots of photos here - we were on that bus for a LONG TIME. Fortunately, there were only about 15 people on the tour with us (predominantly Japanese tourists - New Zealand seems to be a popular destination).
We saw lots of sheep, but not too many lambs - probably just a week or two early.
This is a very famous church alongside the lake on the way to Mt. Cook. Could easily spend a few hours here taking photos - unfortunately, it was raining when we made our stop.
We made one of our "rest" stops in the little town of Geraldine. A good thing about the coach tour is they stop about every 90 minutes or so for a quick break.
The coach was quite comfortable - and there were lots of extra seats. Made it easy to hop back and forth to catch the sights on either side.
We circled the lake (have to look up the name), so lots of different views.
You can see it's snowing at Mt. Cook. We never did actually see Mt. Cook, but that's common in the winter as it gets fogged in easily. This was another area worth a longer visit.
Don't ever say I don't put photos of me in these blogs ...
The Hermitage Lodge at Mt. Cook - a good place to start if you want to do the 3 day Hike to Milford Sound (maybe next time :) )
Lou found some more ducks (birds?)
On the way from Mt. Cook to Queenstown ...
It started to get dark, so there were fewer photo opportunities for the last couple hours of the journey. Most people slept the last leg of the journey.
About 45 minutes outside of Queenstown now - lots of new wineries in this area.
Coming into Queenstown - this is the beginning of Lake Wakatipu.
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