Day 19

We had a Jet Boat tour scheduled for today.  The weather forecast when we got up showed rain starting at 2.  Since we were supposed to be back by then, we figured we'd be OK.

We were wrong.  Just before the bus left the city, they gave us the option to cancel because the conditions where we were going were "heavy".  That meant not good.

Due at lot to the fact that we had already experienced many cancellations, we decided to go ahead.  Most people on the bus made the same decision, but several cancelled.

It was raining and very windy on the boat.  Michele and Cheryl lucked out and sat in the front row, behind the windshield.  Malcolm and I were in row 3.  Not behind the windshield.  Kind of in the spot where everything that doesn't hit the windshield goes.

BBs in the face from a machine gun.  Sleet at 50 mph.  Riding a motorcycle in the rain with no helmet.  I think you get the picture.  Still, it was fun.  Not nearly as fun as bright sunshine would have been, but still...

We also got to see some of the places they filmed the LOTR and Hobbit movies.  We got to walk in one of the woods used for filming.

Left at 7:45, got back at 1:30.  Had lunch at the harbour, then the rain began.  We're packing it in for the day, unless it clears enough for ice cream.  Always time for ice cream.

Day 18

More nice weather today.  Today is only a short drive from Wanaka to Queenstown.  Made a couple of stops along the way, but the highlight was trading in the POS Holden Captiva we have been driving since Day 1 for a brand new Toyota Highlander.  What a difference!  More storage, more legroom, comfier seating and best of all - better gas mileage.  And only 1,900 km!

The weather forecast for Day 19 was not good, and we had an evening boat cruise scheduled.  We managed to get it switched to tonight.  We cruised on the TSS Earnslaw.  It's a 100+ year old steamship that still runs on coal.  A nice cruise followed by a very good BBQ and sheep shearing demonstration.

Queenstown is a decent sized resort town that at first glance reminds me of Lake Como in Italy, if you're familiar with that.  Without all the millionaires.  I'm thinking more of the view from the harbour.  Malcolm said it's like an upscale Niagara Falls.  It's certainly touristy, but I wouldn't be that harsh.  So, it's somewhere between the two.

Day 17

More great weather.  After debating several options, we decided on the Rocky Mountain hike.  It was very tough.  Took about 5 hours, including a lunch break at the top.  450 metre vertical ascent.  Length is somewhere between 7 and 10 kilometres, depending on whose device you believe.  Exhausting but exhilarating.  Fantastic 360 degree views at the summit.

In the evening we went to the Cinema Paradiso to see Black Panther.  This is a funky local treasure.  The seating includes bus seats set in the back of a Morris Minor convertible and many living room couches.  At intermission (yup) they shut off the movie so that everyone can go out and get the most delicious hot-from-the-oven cookies you can imagine.  Once everyone is back in their seats, the movie restarts.  Mostly first run movies and an excellent screen and sound system.

I've added a few photos.

Day 16

Beautiful weather this morning.  We drove through the Haast Pass today.  This was the nicest scenery of the trip so far.  We travelled to the town of Wanaka, but stopped many times along the way to take in scenic viewpoints as well as take several hikes ranging from 5 minutes to 1.5 hours.

Wanaka is a picturesque lakeside town with much to offer.  It would be easy to spend a week or more here.  Spectacular vistas and many activities.

This is beginning to look like the New Zealand that we were anticipating.

Day 15

The weather broke this morning at around 11 AM.  Too late for our heli-hike tour, though.  It was cancelled.  They were fully booked for the next two days, so we couldn't reschedule.

Instead, we hiked to the Franz Josef glacier.  Not too hard, took about 2 hours return.  At least we got to see it.

All things considered, even with the train cancellation and the heli-hike cancellation, we were much luckier than other tourists.  Some never got out of Christchurch, some got trapped in between closures on highways, many couldn't get accommodations, some had to sleep on buses that couldn't go anywhere.  We heard of at least one campervan blown over by the winds.  The highways around us were still closed this morning but reopened by noon.

Just watched Canada lose to Great Britain in curling, now a little R&R outside on the porch.

Forecast looks good for tomorrow.

Day 14

Quite the day today.  The scenic train trip we had scheduled was indeed cancelled due to the impending cyclone.  We did manage to retrieve our rental car and were able to drive to Franz Josef, our next destination.

The weather all day was bad, really bad.  Rain and high winds.  I believe the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm, but it still had gusts up to 150 km/h.

We managed to reach our destination just before they closed the highway.  Very fortunate.  We've had power outages all evening, but it seems to be more stable now.

We have a heli-hike tour scheduled for tomorrow, but it's very likely that it will be cancelled.  The manager of our lodge says that all tours are cancelled until Saturday.

So, it was an inside evening doing laundry and watching Canada lose to China in curling.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Another random thought

You know how when you have a single lever faucet in the sink or shower, hot is always on the left and cold on the right?

In NZ, that's true if it's a kitchen faucet.  But in the shower, cold is on the left and hot is on the right.  Makes for quite a surprise until you figure it out.