Dear Readers:
Welcome to New Zealand – a small land of immense natural beauty. New Zealand consists of 2 islands–the South Island and the North Island. If the South Island (or at least that part we have seen) is typical of what can be found in New Zealand, this is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Attached is a photo of the view from our hotel room of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown.
We arrived in Queenstown yesterday afternoon and were immediately struck by the beauty. Our first stop was a trip up a local mountain by cable car; they call it a gondola. I always feel like I’m in a James Bond movie on one of these cable cars! Also attached are 2 views from where the cable car ends. At the end of the cable car ride, we continued to make our way further up the mountain via an open chair lift so that we could take the luge back down (to where the cable car is). M. D. and Joyce: This was exactly the same kind of luge ride we took in Mt. Tremblant last summer. I loved it. Marty wanted to know where Ken and Rona were so he could stay on the ground with Rona! Ah well.
Dinner last night was at a restaurant called Gantley’s. This is a restaurant I found in the Wine Spectator and which I reserved many months ago. They provided pick-up and delivery service to their restaurant which was up in the mountains. It is set in a historic schist building dating from 1863. The food was excellent. Marty and I both had New Zealand mussels in a coconut cream sauce; largest mussels I’ve ever seen; (Doug: you would have loved them.) Then I had New Zealand lamb; (Ken: you would have loved it). Marty had venison; (sorry, Fawn!) The wine was a New Zealand wine from Passage Rock on Waiheke Island; it was 46% merlot, 46% cabernet sauvignon and 8% cabernet franc; it was excellent. I actually passed on dessert. I’m trying to control what I eat (to some extent) since we will be away for such a long time.
This morning we were in for a major disappointment. The reason we came to Queenstown was to use it as a base from which to visit Milford Sound which is supposed to be the 8th wonder of the world. Six months ago I made a reservation for a fly/cruise/fly trip for today. We were scheduled to fly in a small plane to Milford Sound, then cruise on the water and return via helicopter. There aren’t any overnight accommodations near the Sound and it’s a 5 hour drive (each way) from Queenstown. Problem was that while the weather in Queenstown was fine, the winds over Milford Sound were too strong and the company wasn’t flying. Apparently they haven’t flown since last Thursday; we were told this yesterday so it didn’t come as a shock today but was a disappointment nonetheless; especially since we leave tomorrow for the North Island.
So what to do with this unexpected unplanned day? I’m sure all of you realize I’ve basically planned each day of this month long sojourn. The Haber Tour Director was not to be deterred however for long. I decided we should rent a car and tour the surrounding countryside. As we walked over to Avis, we passed 3 unknown car companies and inquired at each as to whether they had a car for the day; at each place we received an resounding “no”. By the time we got to Avis, we were getting disheartened. However, not to fear. Marty waved his Wizard number and used his charm and even though here too the initial answer was “no”, somehow a car magically appeared. What started out as a disappointment turned into a terrific day which we would not have had otherwise. We spent the day driving through the mountains; they are just majestic. Well, actually that’s not all we did; the area is dotted with wineries, so we did what we do best: we went winery hopping. We tasted lots of New Zealand wines; as always, Marty spits; Irene swallows; (don’t even go there!)
We also went to the bungy jumping site (which we wouldn’t have had time to see if we had gone to Milford Sound). What an experience that is and all we did is watch. (Jeanie: I can’t believe you let Dena do this; what courage all around!)
As we drove around we passed the Kawarau Gorge; photos attached. I think you can see how magnificent it is.
One of the wineries had a “cheesery” attached; that’s what they called it. Instead of wine tastings, they had cheese tastings. We did that and then ordered a cheese platter (with wonderful bread and some fruit) for lunch.
The last place we went to was quite unusual. I have the Avis manager to thank for telling me about it. It had an aroma room. You got to smell about 50 different aromas that can be found in wine. Then you got to taste 6 different wines from the Central Otago region while watching a film where each of the 6 wine makers described their wine. Marty was in heaven! I enjoyed it as well.
So what started as a disappointment turned into a wonderful day. I was glad I was able to turn it around.
Tomorrow morning we fly to the North Island. We’ll be spending more time there. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of New Zealand.
In case you’re wondering, the Kiwis are somewhat more difficult to understand than the Aussies but it’s clearly not a problem.
Keep those comments coming. I’ll keep writing the reports.
The Flexible One (!!)
Irene
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