Our first activity in Queenstown (and, as you'll hear, the last) was a trip up on the Coronet Peak cable car. This gives spectacular views of the area.
This is the view from the observation platform. The house we were staying in is on the neck of the second peninsula out. The mountains behind are the Remarkables. Central Queenstown and the harbour are in the foreground.
We had a fairly extensive walk in the forests above the head of the cable car. This is the point from which the hang-gliders take off, and it gives a good view in an unconventional direction, i.e. one that doesn't include the lake.
Back on terra firma, we walked in the reserve on the peninsula by the harbour. This is the lake steamer SS Earnslaw, which was assembled on the lake from parts transported overland at the end of the 19th century. The lake waters are extremely pure and the metal doesn't rust at all rapidly, so it's still in service now.
The next day, the rain set in and I started to suffer from a very heavy cold, so we did almost nothing beyond an unrecorded walk along the lake shore from Kelvin Heights. We had originally intended to cross the Southern Alps by the Haast pass and make our way up the West coast past the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, but the weather continued foul. Instead, we returned by the inland route and crossed the Alps by Arthur's Pass. As can be seen on the above view of the Rakaia bridge, the weather was generally good. However, as soon as we were across the main divide the heavens opened. We overnighted at a hotel in Greymouth (as it had a restaurant and we wouldn't have to go out again) and the next morning did some searching after Liz's family history- mistakenly, as it turned out. Her great-grandfather had been in Greytown (NI) and not Greymouth (SI.) We then headed north along the coast in rather poor weather.
This can be seen in the view of these rock stacks, which look a good deal more spectacular in the sunshine!
Even the Buller Gorge, inland, looked very atmospheric in the continued mist and rain.
We stopped off to look at Lake Rotoroa, in the Nelson Lakes area, a place we hadn't been to before. We then went on to Nelson and stayed overnight with our old landlady Rosemary Doyle-Smith. Stupidly, we forgot to take any photographs while we were there.
Next day we proceeded along Queen Charlotte Drive, on the Marlborough Sounds, in the direction of Picton. Even in disappointing weather, they still look pretty spectacular.
Stopping only to buy some supplies at the Montana winery, we headed South again down the Kaikoura coast. These New Zealand fur seals are at a colony just north of Kaikoura. One isn't allowed to approach them nearer 30m.
This minimum distance is reduced to 10m at the Kaikoura beach. The seals seem totally unconcerned by human proximity, anyway.
We stayed in Kaikoura at the Fyffe Country Lodge hotel, where we had been before. They actually recognised us (after 8 years) and gave us an upgrade to a huge bedroom with two ensuites in consequence. The food here is exceptionally good (deserved plug!) but due to the recession business seems pretty poor. There was only one other party when we were there.
On the way back to Christchurch, we visited the church in Kaiapoi where Liz's great-grandfather had been rector. It is well worth visiting, as the oldest church in the South Island and the oldest wooden church left in New Zealand. We'll have to leave unravelling his sojourn in Greytown until some later visit.
Our first activity in Queenstown (and, as you'll hear, the last) was a trip up on the Coronet Peak cable car. This gives spectacular views of the area.
This is the view from the observation platform. The house we were staying in is on the neck of the second peninsula out. The mountains behind are the Remarkables. Central Queenstown and the harbour are in the foreground.
We had a fairly extensive walk in the forests above the head of the cable car. This is the point from which the hang-gliders take off, and it gives a good view in an unconventional direction, i.e. one that doesn't include the lake.
Back on terra firma, we walked in the reserve on the peninsula by the harbour. This is the lake steamer SS Earnslaw, which was assembled on the lake from parts transported overland at the end of the 19th century. The lake waters are extremely pure and the metal doesn't rust at all rapidly, so it's still in service now.
The next day, the rain set in and I started to suffer from a very heavy cold, so we did almost nothing beyond an unrecorded walk along the lake shore from Kelvin Heights. We had originally intended to cross the Southern Alps by the Haast pass and make our way up the West coast past the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, but the weather continued foul. Instead, we returned by the inland route and crossed the Alps by Arthur's Pass. As can be seen on the above view of the Rakaia bridge, the weather was generally good. However, as soon as we were across the main divide the heavens opened. We overnighted at a hotel in Greymouth (as it had a restaurant and we wouldn't have to go out again) and the next morning did some searching after Liz's family history- mistakenly, as it turned out. Her great-grandfather had been in Greytown (NI) and not Greymouth (SI.) We then headed north along the coast in rather poor weather.
This can be seen in the view of these rock stacks, which look a good deal more spectacular in the sunshine!
Even the Buller Gorge, inland, looked very atmospheric in the continued mist and rain.
We stopped off to look at Lake Rotoroa, in the Nelson Lakes area, a place we hadn't been to before. We then went on to Nelson and stayed overnight with our old landlady Rosemary Doyle-Smith. Stupidly, we forgot to take any photographs while we were there.
Next day we proceeded along Queen Charlotte Drive, on the Marlborough Sounds, in the direction of Picton. Even in disappointing weather, they still look pretty spectacular.
Stopping only to buy some supplies at the Montana winery, we headed South again down the Kaikoura coast. These New Zealand fur seals are at a colony just north of Kaikoura. One isn't allowed to approach them nearer 30m.
This minimum distance is reduced to 10m at the Kaikoura beach. The seals seem totally unconcerned by human proximity, anyway.
We stayed in Kaikoura at the Fyffe Country Lodge hotel, where we had been before. They actually recognised us (after 8 years) and gave us an upgrade to a huge bedroom with two ensuites in consequence. The food here is exceptionally good (deserved plug!) but due to the recession business seems pretty poor. There was only one other party when we were there.
On the way back to Christchurch, we visited the church in Kaiapoi where Liz's great-grandfather had been rector. It is well worth visiting, as the oldest church in the South Island and the oldest wooden church left in New Zealand. We'll have to leave unravelling his sojourn in Greytown until some later visit.
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