As always the little blue penguins were charming and we were delighted to hear that the colony is growing Year on Year. After previous experience, we were well prepared for it to be cold but it decided to rain heavily as well so it was extra challenging. 90% of the audience were Chinese but they did not have much stamina as many left after only 40 minutes or so. Your dynamic duo are made of sterner stuff and were amongst the last to leave.
This morning we were off by 09:30 for a longish drive via the Waitaki valley, Lakes Waitaki, Aviemore and Benmore and back to the major junction of Omarama. Those of you who have managed to stay awake whilst reading the blog, may well remember that this was one of many coffee and cake stops and the LLW insisted on it being so again. The Wrinkled Ram is actually a very nice cafe despite the name and ginger slices were on offer. Now I don't want to appear obsessive about the Chinese visitors and they do seem very charming. However, we were both amazed to find that since our last visit only 2 1/2 weeks ago the loos had acquired Chinese symbols for M and F!
The LLW continued to drive over the Lindis Pass which is becoming her speciality. Clear sunny, weather and very light traffic was the norm right down over the pass, through Tarris and down Lake Dunstan to Cromwell where Ray was instructed to take over and drive through the Kawarau Gorge. We resisted potential stops at Gibbston Valley and the Boat Shed, heading directly to our overnight stay at Turner Heights which, true to its name, was perched high above Queenstown at the top of a very, very steep street.
The views from our window are spectacular and after a short while catching up on emails and other such admin tasks we gingerly walked down the street into Queenstown. As you may have gathered by now Ray is not good going downhill (bad knees) whilst Rosemary is slower climbing uphill (not sure what the excuse is!) so the LLW still has the difficult bit to come.
It was lovely by the lake, very sunny but not exactly hot. We reviewed a few possibilities for dinner and settled upon Finz, a seafood restaurant on the quay right opposite the TSS Earnslaw dock where crowds disembarked and embarked at regular intervals. This proved to be a good choice, we were ahead of the evening rush and the food was very good, accompanied by an excellent Riesling from Otago (the LLW is now well and truly converted to Riesling).
The climb back to the apartment was accomplished with aplomb and we enjoyed the the view across Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu whilst keeping an eye on the tennis.
We are now at Queenstown airport and I have succeeded in uploading some photos! On our way we inevitably stopped at the Boat Shed for our final NZ coffee and cakes, filled the car with petrol and dropped it off at Budget. After a slight drama at having left the camera in the car, this has been retrieved, we have checked in the bags and are waiting for our flight.
The end of our latest NZ adventure is nigh; we have had a wonderful time and would love to return to this beautiful country. We shall see.
This morning we were off by 09:30 for a longish drive via the Waitaki valley, Lakes Waitaki, Aviemore and Benmore and back to the major junction of Omarama. Those of you who have managed to stay awake whilst reading the blog, may well remember that this was one of many coffee and cake stops and the LLW insisted on it being so again. The Wrinkled Ram is actually a very nice cafe despite the name and ginger slices were on offer. Now I don't want to appear obsessive about the Chinese visitors and they do seem very charming. However, we were both amazed to find that since our last visit only 2 1/2 weeks ago the loos had acquired Chinese symbols for M and F!
The LLW continued to drive over the Lindis Pass which is becoming her speciality. Clear sunny, weather and very light traffic was the norm right down over the pass, through Tarris and down Lake Dunstan to Cromwell where Ray was instructed to take over and drive through the Kawarau Gorge. We resisted potential stops at Gibbston Valley and the Boat Shed, heading directly to our overnight stay at Turner Heights which, true to its name, was perched high above Queenstown at the top of a very, very steep street.
The views from our window are spectacular and after a short while catching up on emails and other such admin tasks we gingerly walked down the street into Queenstown. As you may have gathered by now Ray is not good going downhill (bad knees) whilst Rosemary is slower climbing uphill (not sure what the excuse is!) so the LLW still has the difficult bit to come.
It was lovely by the lake, very sunny but not exactly hot. We reviewed a few possibilities for dinner and settled upon Finz, a seafood restaurant on the quay right opposite the TSS Earnslaw dock where crowds disembarked and embarked at regular intervals. This proved to be a good choice, we were ahead of the evening rush and the food was very good, accompanied by an excellent Riesling from Otago (the LLW is now well and truly converted to Riesling).
The climb back to the apartment was accomplished with aplomb and we enjoyed the the view across Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu whilst keeping an eye on the tennis.
We are now at Queenstown airport and I have succeeded in uploading some photos! On our way we inevitably stopped at the Boat Shed for our final NZ coffee and cakes, filled the car with petrol and dropped it off at Budget. After a slight drama at having left the camera in the car, this has been retrieved, we have checked in the bags and are waiting for our flight.
The end of our latest NZ adventure is nigh; we have had a wonderful time and would love to return to this beautiful country. We shall see.
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