Blogs from Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

Getting to New Zealand itself was fairly uneventful. We had in-flight entertainment and the meals United provided were surprisingly good for once! Then we landed in Auckland and things got rough. We saw a currency exchange counter so we handed over our US dollars for New Zealand dollars. We thought we had plenty of time because United Airlines back in the States said our checked bags would be automatically forwarded to Queenstown. Yeah, they lied. Our baggage showed up on the carousel. So then we had to go through Customs. And then three different Biosecurity lines. By the time we were halfway through the second Biosecurity line, we only had 20min before our flight was boarding. One of our group Tony, was the sole person who got thrown into the slowest moving line. Apparently someone was ... read more

Well I'm a bit of a pro at this at the moment hence the delay in the latest blog, however it’s not yesterday I have trouble keeping up with it’s the last couple of weeks! Oh why, oh why did I leave it so long. Well we left Te Anau late on Wednesday 23/11. The weather has been terrible and again today it’s cold and raining so we head off to the NZMCA Lumsden park for the night. The Around the Mountain Bike trails pass through this little village. So plenty of lycra clad people around having an expresso or just sheltering from the weather. Thursday 24/11 and our first stop for the day is Garston. A stop at the Honey shop here is worth the stop especially if you are a honey lover. Today the ... read more

Queenstown Gondola Last time I was in Queenstown, I went up the gondola, so I decided it was something I would have to do again. Gondola Base Station On the gondola Skyline Top Station Kiwi Park I went to the Kiwi Park when I came down from the Skyline, hoping to take some photos of a kiwi, but unfortunately I didn't realise they are nocturnal and you can't take photos. I did get to see one once my eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the enclosure. Wharf I then found myself at the wharf. Botanical Gardens I headed towards the botanical gardens, and walked around the headland. It was very windy, and it was biting. It was also making whitecaps on the lake.... read more

Queenstown Today was our driver's rest day, so we had the option to go on local tours or just have the day to ourselves, which is what I decided to do. I spent the day wandering around the town until it was time to go for dinner. View from my Hotel View from the Copthorne Hotel Frankton Road View I walked down Frankton Road to get to the town centre Foreshore I spent some time on the 'beach' at the foreshore Weather It was still quite cool William Gilbert Rees Statue I found this cool sheep statue Downtown And wandered around downtown Queenstown 2013 Attached are some photos of when I was here in 2013... read more

This was my second day of the tour. We ha a great day and saw some fantastic scenery. We saw: · Franz Josef Glacier · Fox Glacier · Haast Highway · Bruce Bay · Lake Moreaki · Haast River · Haast Visitor Centre · Haast Pass to Makarora Road · Thunder Creek Falls · Makarora · Lake Wanaka · Lake Hawea · Lake Dunstan · Jones Family Shop, Cromwell · Arrowtown · Queenstown... read more