Queenstown, Otago wines and Mt Cook

the road to queenstown

After Doubtful Sound, we headed to Queenstown for a few days.  Known as the "Adventure Capital" with all of the bungy jumping, jetboating, rafting, hiking, water sports, etc. it is a pretty cool place where everyone seems to be under the age of 30, but crowded and expensive!! We decided to take the budget route and not do any of that stuff 'this time' since we both did a bungy jump and jet boating when we came here four years ago.  It's a mountain town with dramatic views that remind me of parts of Colorado, we had a good time. From there we went to Mt Cook, the highest mountain in NZ at over 12,000 feet. 

saturday market

cool to find a Mexican restaurant!!! But we did not eat here because at no point am I paying $35 for cheese enchiladas.

people watching and a snack by the waterfront

steep hike but great views, the lake and queenstown below

campsite by the lake

our campground

rainy afternoon... lots of biting sandflies!

Arrowtown, old mining town that's now famous for shopping and food

irish stew on St Patty's

bush walk along the creek in arrowtown

driving away from queenstown, kawarau gorge and river

so many wineries, so little time

Central Otago Pinot Noirs are the way to go.

The view from Mt Difficulty winery, one of the wines we served at the restaurant in Akaroa

impromptu swim in lake Dunstan near Cromwell

first look at Mt Cook by lake Pukaki

Weta. ugh.  New Zealand doesn't have many 'icky' things but they sure make up for it with this guy.

Hooker valley, lake and Glacier

Memorial to climbers who died in these mountains

sealy tarns hike, 2,000 stairs (some you can see behind me), climbing around 1800 feet

Nelson Glacier and lake, the largest/longest glacier in NZ

Church of the Good Shepard in Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo at sunset

Now we are back in Akaroa for a couple of nights doing laundry and getting re-set for the last four weeks of our journey here to New Zealand.  We will be heading back north slowly, flying out of Auckland on April 17 and then back home!  Looking forward to seeing friends, family, and green chile again.