Queenstown and drive to Te Anau

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We got up and started toward Queenstown. On the way we passed a couple of ski resorts (downhill and cross country) that were totally devoid of snow. Queenstown is a base for skiing and other adventures, a short drive from at least two ski resorts. The mountains were bare and the town was full of angst-ridden frustrated skiers and merchants.

We had a nice time shopping around the town and stumbled into a Japanese drumming troupe doing a routine in the square. We couldn't determine if this was a usual promotional activity for the Japanese restaurant that they were performing in front of or if their performance was part of the Winter Festival that was scheduled for later in the day and into the evening. We had an acceptable Mexican meal, got a few souvenirs and got back in to the old minivan to drive another couple hours to Te Anau.

We pulled over a couple of times to take some pictures of a funky cloud layer over Lake Wakatipu. We arrived at our first "farm stay" accommodation. Farm Stays are fairly popular in New Zealand and are basically bed & breakfast cabins on farms. Our home for the next 3 nights is on a 160 acre farm with chickens, horses, cattle, sheep and a type of elk that is farmed in New Zealand. We had a spectacular view over the farm land with the mountains in the background. This was a bit smaller place than we had been lucky enough to find in other places, but was still adequately large with a nice bedroom and all three kids in the living room (on a pull out couch and a rollaway bed).

The owners of our cabin also recently purchased a wood-fired pizza restaurant in town. The offered complementary garlic bread and house wine for their guests, so our collective arm was adequately twisted. The pizza was incredible and it was worth the splurge. We had only dined out for dinner three times on the trip so far, so it was nice that this rarity wasn't wasted on mediocrity. An awesome way to kick off our time in Te Anau.

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Photos

Japanese drummers in Queenstown
Ever since I disccovered Kodo a couple of decades ago, I've always loved Japanese drumming.

View near Queenstown over Lake Wakatipu
Look at that cloud sitting over the lake. Very cool

Some of New Zealand's 40 million sheep
The sheep outnumber people 10:1 in the country.