Day 6 - New Zealand

Today we had a morning flight down to Queenstown so  I got up extra early to walk around to see how the area has improved from the earthquake since I was last here in 2012. Unfortunately the sun was not up yet. In 2012 the Cathedral Square area was all behind fences. This time you can walk into Cathedral Square. Only the individual buildings with damage are fenced off. This includes the actual Cathedral that they still have not official decided if it can be repaired or needs to be completely torn down.

 

 

 

 

 

 At 8:45am our flight left Christchurch. When we arrived in Queenstown a hour and 10 minutes later, it was raining. This did not stop us from enjoying our activities for the day.

First stop was lunch at Millbrook Resort. We enjoyed a classic Kiwi BBQ lunch. We were not however able to the site inspection because of the rain. I actually golfed at this resort my first trip to Queenstown and new Zealand back in 2001. This is a 5 star, 4 seasons resort.

At 2pm we were picked up by Nomad Safaris in their Range Rover 4 x 4 vehicles. First part of this tour was driving along a river bed, as you can see. We then had about 30 minutes in the small town of Arrowtown to shop. I purchased some post cards and stamps. Then we did  a short version of their Skipper Canyon drive. Nomad Safaris offers small, personalized tours into NZ back country. They also offer Quad Bike tours.

 

 

 

 

 

At 5:30pm they dropped us off at our hotel, the Hilton Queenstown Resort where we checked in for 2 nights. The first time I would be sleeping in the same bed for more than 1 night. We had some time to relax before the buses came to take us around the lake into the town of Queenstown for shopping and dinner.  I went to the Cow for pizza and beer. This rustic restaurant is literally in a cow shed. They were not prepared for so many of us showing up at the same time. Had to wait an hour to be seated but enjoyed the bar until a table opened up. Others went to Fergburger, considered by some to be the best burger joint on the planet. The only problem is very limited seating. Worse than the Cow. It is my understanding that there is always a line here. They say don’t b put off by the line, it will be worth the wait There are over 150 restaurants, bars and cafes to choice from.

Last bus back to the Hilton was 10:30pm which was OK since had to get up for the trade show the next day.