Sheep
Sheep
New Zealand's official bird, the kiwi
The luge, Queenstown, NZHello from New Zealand! We have been here since late Saturday night and have been loving it. When we were taking the shuttle to our lodging, the first question the driver asked is if we knew how many sheep there were in New Zealand. There are 4 million people total (3 mil on the North Island and 1 mil on the South Island) and 40 MILLION SHEEP!
We finally got to bed after our red-eye flight into Christchurch around 2am Saturday/Sunday. Once we woke up Sunday morning, we headed into Christchurch. They have a beautiful cathedral in the center of town, around which their town is based. They were the first "official" city in New Zealand because they were the first town with a cathedral. We headed to a local craft fair where Paula and I bought Alpaca wool hats. It is quite a bit colder here than in Australia (esp. after coming from Cairns), so we have had to winterize ourselves. You can see my hat in several of my pictures.
We explored the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, which had a beautiful rose garden, and did a little shopping. Our new favorite chocolate is Cadbury Mint Chip, which has delicious little chips spread throughout the chocolate. It was kind of scarce in Australia, but Paula and I stocked up here! We caught up on some laundry and got ready to leave early the next morning.
Yesterday, we left Christchurch for Queenstown, via Mt. Cook. The scenery was absolutely amazing and we saw tons of sheep, cows, and reindeer along the way. I don't think there is any angle to shoot a bad picture...everything is so beautiful! We made it to Mt. Cook after about 5 hours and saw the snow-covered peak. The lakes around Mt. Cook are crystal clear...as the water from the river meets the lake, it turns from a milky white to a crystal blue. The white color is due to mineral deposit run-offs from the glaciers.
We left Mt. Cook to travel to Queenstown, which took another 5 hours or so. Along the way, we passed the area where gold was first discovered and mined in NZ and the very first bungee jump in the world! We arrived last evening and found a quaint Japanese restaurant for a sushi dinner. Our motel has a fully-equipped kitchen, so we were able to buy some cereal and milk to change up our breakfast a bit.
This morning we were supposed to go to Milford Sound, but the travel agent accidently put the wrong time down on our itinerary. Luckily, we were supposed to have a free day tomorrow in Queenstown, so we just switched the days. We took the gondola to the top of the overlook above Queenstown and rode the luge down part of the mountain. It was a blast.
This afternoon we are doing a combo chair swing/bungee jump-type adventure. Wish us luck! :)
Hope everyone is well!
We finally got to bed after our red-eye flight into Christchurch around 2am Saturday/Sunday. Once we woke up Sunday morning, we headed into Christchurch. They have a beautiful cathedral in the center of town, around which their town is based. They were the first "official" city in New Zealand because they were the first town with a cathedral. We headed to a local craft fair where Paula and I bought Alpaca wool hats. It is quite a bit colder here than in Australia (esp. after coming from Cairns), so we have had to winterize ourselves. You can see my hat in several of my pictures.
We explored the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, which had a beautiful rose garden, and did a little shopping. Our new favorite chocolate is Cadbury Mint Chip, which has delicious little chips spread throughout the chocolate. It was kind of scarce in Australia, but Paula and I stocked up here! We caught up on some laundry and got ready to leave early the next morning.
Yesterday, we left Christchurch for Queenstown, via Mt. Cook. The scenery was absolutely amazing and we saw tons of sheep, cows, and reindeer along the way. I don't think there is any angle to shoot a bad picture...everything is so beautiful! We made it to Mt. Cook after about 5 hours and saw the snow-covered peak. The lakes around Mt. Cook are crystal clear...as the water from the river meets the lake, it turns from a milky white to a crystal blue. The white color is due to mineral deposit run-offs from the glaciers.
We left Mt. Cook to travel to Queenstown, which took another 5 hours or so. Along the way, we passed the area where gold was first discovered and mined in NZ and the very first bungee jump in the world! We arrived last evening and found a quaint Japanese restaurant for a sushi dinner. Our motel has a fully-equipped kitchen, so we were able to buy some cereal and milk to change up our breakfast a bit.
This morning we were supposed to go to Milford Sound, but the travel agent accidently put the wrong time down on our itinerary. Luckily, we were supposed to have a free day tomorrow in Queenstown, so we just switched the days. We took the gondola to the top of the overlook above Queenstown and rode the luge down part of the mountain. It was a blast.
This afternoon we are doing a combo chair swing/bungee jump-type adventure. Wish us luck! :)
Hope everyone is well!
1 comment:
I LOVE the Cadbury mint chip! My aunt sent some last Christmas, and there was a shuffle at the Shukla house for the last piece :)
Scenery is so beautiful - enjoy!
Post a Comment