Thursday March 16

Today was a travel day. We were up early to catch a shuttle to the airport. There was an accident on the freeway, but we still made our flight with plenty of time.  We left the North Island and flew to Queenstown on the South Island.  At Queenstown you fly into a wide gorge.







The airport is small but nice. Easy to pick up luggage and our rental car. We found a close spot for a bite of lunch and some groceries and headed down the road to Te Anau 2 hrs away. Dennis handled the driving on the left quite well.  We drove through a variety of terrains reminding us of the mountains in Utah, the Wallowas, the Columbia River gorge and eastern Oregon.



On the way we did pull over at a "scientific spot". It actually was an ecological study. 

We were surprised by the age of the bushes and the lichen on the ground. I don't know if you can read the sign. The 3-4 ft high bushes are several hundred yrs old



Along the drive we saw sheep, pastures, sheep, cattle, hops, grasslands, sheep, deer herds (they raise herds of deer for the meat). And did we mention we saw sheep? Yes lots of them.

We arrived in Te Anau around 2:30. Nice little inn (same one as the McIntyre's). Kitchenette and a spa tub, which we both  enjoyed.  Walked along a tiny bit of the lake front. ( its 40 miles long). Got a coffee and some groceries for our trip to tomorrow.  Found some pizza for dinner. Sitting quietly tonight. We have a long day tomorrow. 

A "small" eucalyptus 


 


Comments

  1. Doug McIntyreMarch 16, 2023 at 11:13 PM

    You are correct. The terrain varies almost around every corner. Beautiful country. Did you say you saw sheep? Probably some of the same ones we saw! But there are lots of cattle too, and yes the deer. There are even some elk farms. Enjoy more of the south Island!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday March 23rd

Image
Today we were booked for a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We walked to the wharf in the rain. We headed out of the bay to a parked platoon out in the reef. The water was VERY rough and I got sea sick. They were very kind and had offered us on the boat anti nausea pills prior to the journey. They were great helping any who were struggling.  Our day consisted of docking at their platoon, being able to snorkel in their designated area or one could choose to do scuba diving. Dennis getting ready to snorkel  By 1:00 the weather had improved. The sun broke out and the waves calmed.  The sun and the changing tides really made the coral reefs brighten.   The ride back into shore was delightful. We ended the night with a delightful Italian dinner.    And ice cream
Read more

Sunday, March 26

Image
 Today was another travel day. We left Cairns and flew into Sydney.  Our flight was late leaving, but that wasn't an issue for us except we were hungry. We checked into  our hotel which is right by Hyde Park and Town Hall square. Found a Korean BBQ spot and felt revived.  Our waiter at the Korean BBQ We then walked around to get our bearings and take in a few of the sights. Stopped at Woolworths ( local grocery store chain) and picked up breakfast items. We're now settled in for the night and have made a plan for tomorrow.  St Andrew's ( Anglican) St Mary's Cathedral  Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park St Mary's Cathedral 
Read more

Wednesday March 29

Image
 Today was suppose to have rain showers, so we stayed around town. We missed the raindrops and by 3:00 the sun was out and it was beautiful. We even went back to a few sights to get better pictures. We started out at the Botanical Gardens. The other day we had walked "by" the gardens, but today we actually walked through it. Beautiful layout. The government house, located at the edge of the gardens, is still used as a residence for the Govenor of New South Wales, when he/she comes to Sydney. Then on to museum number one ( after a coffee). Back to our room to rest our feet and have a snack. Then on to museum number two. Part of museum was housed in an old building  These were like 3D totem poles Since the sun came out, finally we resnapped some photos. Since the weather had turned so nice, we decided to walk the mile down to the quay to have dinner and enjoy the view. We finished dinner just as the sun was setting. We sat at the dock, talked to a nice couple from the Seattle a...
Read more