Queenstown

Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of the world. People come here from all over to do sky diving, bungee jumping, jet boating, paragliding, skiing and more. After all, it's said to be the place that invented bunging, New Zealand invented the jet boat and who could think of a more scenic location to do any of these things?

We decided the scenery was better enjoyed with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Or maybe we just weren't adventurous enough to try anything after watching other people go. I can honestly say, the jet boat didn't look all that exciting and seemed a bit like a waste of money. However, I also have to admit that after watching bungee jumping from the bridge itself, I don't know if I ever want to try it myself. I highly recommend NOT watching it first if you ever want to try it yourself.

I was quite content enjoying the town on foot. We walked up the nearby Queenstown hill to get beautiful views over the city and surrounds. I was most enthralled by the pine trees. It was a nice change from the ferns and rainforest type scenery we're so used to seeing on the North Island.

In the evening, we walked around the gardens on the lakeside, then picked up some delicious Fergburgers to eat at home.

Milford Sound

We have been living in New Zealand for over a year, but it took visitors coming for two weeks to finally get us to the South Island. The famous, scenic South Island.

We flew into Queenstown and visited the town for brunch and a bit of a stroll before heading down to Te Anau. We couldn't stop taking pictures from the moment our feet touched the ground. It would have started earlier, but we had a bit of a cloudy landing. 

We arrived in Te Anau to some snow advisories for the tunnel and snow chain restrictions for all vehicles travelling to Milford Sound. Since none of us have had any experience with snow chains, we decided it was best not to take our chances, on the off chance that we'd actually have to use them. So we joined a bus tour instead. 

We weren't thrilled with this option at first because we were worried it would be too rushed and we wouldn't get to stop and take photos when we wanted and see the things we wanted to see. However, we went with EcoTours and our driver/guide Simon was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating. We had a schedule on the way there as we didn't want to miss the 11a ferry, so we only stopped at Mirror Lakes. Definitely worthwhile and beautifully calm in the morning. 

It was a pleasant surprise to arrive at the ferry terminal to find our boat waiting and that our small busload of about 25 people made up half the passengers. It was not crowded at all and there was plenty of room to move about all the decks, and fresh Pita Pit on board. 

It was a very calm, scenic boat ride. Past waterfalls, mountain lions (not really, but apparently one of the hills looks like a lion and is so named), seals and more beautiful scenery through the 'sound'. Simon told us it's actually not a sound, but a fjord. However, since it was wrongfully named a sound all those years ago, the name has just stuck and it's too hard to shake it. 

On the return back down the fjord toward the docking point, we came right up underneath the waterfall. It was pretty cool to see it from so close. I stayed at the front of the boat, thinking it would be a quick sprinkle. It didn't seem like much at the time, but I came away pretty wet, and we had some camera lenses to dry off. 

On bus home we stopped at all the good places and Simon let us call out requests to stop whenever we wanted. 

kea

introduced plant

Snow lillies

Had we driven ourselves, I wouldn't have learned about the 'snow lillies' (as I call them), the history of Te Anau (the lake used to be the sea, that's why it has some hybrid critters that have adapted to fresh water living in it), and that the yellow flowers you see everywhere are actually introduced 'weeds'. He also gave us plenty of time to play with the apline parrot- kea. 

harvesting spring water

One of our stops was to 'harvest' fresh spring water. It was fresh and cool, and still tasted alright the second day too!

We stopped at least twice for some longer 20 minute hikes/walks, and never did he rush anyone to get back on the bus.

I got to explore off the trail a bit on the first hike to see this beautiful blue water coming out of a cave. On the second hike, we made a miniature snow man. Never had any need for snow chains though (thankfully).

koru

look closely- there's a snowman

 


We arrived back to Te Anau satisfied and tired. It was a good idea to take the bus tour. We had some grilled sandwiches and soup for dinner, and then set out to explore the nearby bird sanctuary. We saw some neat birds in cages, but the most fun was trying to capture the wild ones on film. Between the three cameras we had with us, we managed to snap some good shots of the New Zealand tui bird. He makes a very unique and pretty sound, so you always know when to look for him.

Tui

And, later in the evening we had a visitor- a beautiful cat came to say hello and of course was warmly welcomed. We had to shoo it away though before it got too comfortable, as it had a collar and surely someone would be looking for it before too long. 

Mining for Gold

On our way back from Rotorua, we stopped off in Waihi to look at the gold mine and then went for a hike in the gorge to see the old tunnels. We didn't manage to dig up enough gold to pay for lunch, but we still had a good time.

We had our first glow worm spotting in the tunnels. It's a bit hard to see them, and they look a bit fake, but I can assure you they are real. You'll see the glowing green dots in the photo below of the tunnel ceiling.

And, on our way back to the car, we even got a fantail to pose for almost long enough to get a photo. They're very active little birds and hard to catch on film, but it's a fun challenge.

St Faith's

Being back in Rotorua meant we could attend St Faith's Church again on Sunday morning. It was as lovely as I remembered, with a warm, welcoming congregation. This week was the centennial celebration, so it was a full house. Even the bishop came and some other visitors from the nearby catholic church. 

The sermon was quite informative- he spoke about the history of the church, how it started out smaller and was expanded. The original carvings were all of one eyed creatures only. The missionaries didn't originally want any Maori carvings in the church; they thought the congregation would worship the Maori gods and carvings. They only agreed to it after some negotiations and only if the gods depicted only had one eye. If the god carvings weren't looking at the congregation, then the congregation wouldn't be able to worship them. 

When the church was expanded, they were able to make new carvings with the gods and figurines looking directly at the congregation because the missionaries were no longer in control. That's why the outer sides of the church have two eyed carvings but the center doesn't.