Queenstown

This morning we took a 1912 coal steamer ship up the lake to a sheep ranch. The weather was still overcast but better than yesterday.  I really like these trips on the water and this ship in particular with so much history.  The engineer said it would be the same type of engine my grandpa stoked when he came to Canada. This ship originally provided supplies to the ranchers all along the lake. When we arrived we saw a sheep shearing demonstration and a young guy talked about training sheep dogs and demonstrated how he used signals to his dog to herd the sheep.  With a big herd a sheep herder can be working 10 dogs at a time.  We had another big buffet lunch. I'm doing much better with eating this week but I will be glad to get back to my normal pattern.

The 1912 Steamer SS Earnshaw

The Walter Peak Station (ranch)

Sheep stay quiet if they are on their bum

But not happy with the indignity

And glad to get away when it's over

Even if it means getting hearded by

 the dog

This cow was all personality.

Alpacas are popular and cute

Jim and Lloyd or local guide

On the way back we could see how the ship worked.  The coal stoker

And the rope splicer

When we got back to port there was a wedding shoot going on. Looked like an arranged marriage.

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This is the New Zealand Rose that my Sister In Law and her Sister used to give Mom for Mother's Day each year. 

After we got back I missed a walk with my friend but found a good trail along the lake back to our hotel.  Everyone seemed to be using the time to organize and pack up as there was a line up for the laundry,  We are all either going home or at the half way point and tomorrow either leaving or going onto Wellington and Australia.

I'm a bit anxious about setting out on my own.  It has been easy companionship and effortless moving from one activity to the next. I think it will be easier once I'm on the road but this transition time is unexpectedly hard.

Milford Sound to Queenstown

We had one of the best day’s ever going up the Sound.   It was about a 2 hour drive from our hotel then afterwords another 4 hour drive to go onwards to Queenstown.  It rained all day but the scenery along the way just kept getting better the closer we got to the Sound.  The whole day was a photography feast even if the light wasn't great on the water.

The waterfalls were pouring off the mountains everywhere from rivulets to sheets.  It was a brilliant idea to leave early as our boat was less than half full.  We had box lunches waiting for us on the boat, which we ate right away. It poured rain the whole trip and the wind was over 50 k and gusting so strongly it blew smaller waterfalls up. We could take pictures from the top deck if we could handle the wind and a few of us did.  Being outside was exciting and made the spectacularness of  the waterfalls feel very real as I continually wiped off my lens.  By the time I came in I needed to be wiped off too.

Betsy and Martin Braved going under these falls

 The seals weren't bothered  and neither was I although we both enjoyed a rest when it was over

When we got back to our room I lost track of time and was late for the bus to take us up on the gondola for dinner. I felt like I let the team down. We are doing well as a group.  I left my room in such a hurry I forgot the card for my camera but it didn’t matter the clouds were so low we couldn’t see much from the top. If the weather was better it would have been wonderful views over the city, lake and mountains, the food was good.  It was a long day for us but a longer one for our bus driver and our guides.  Later start tomorrow. 

Antarctic Circle, Flight to Invercargill, Coach to Te Anua

We were up early to go to the Antarctic Research Centre.  NZ has about 1/5 of the continent under protector ship and a research station 3 km from the US station. They are both supplied from this Centre by Hercules airplanes.  The researchers and staff sit along benches knee to knee for 8 hours having to climb over each other to get to the biffy in a box. No one drinks water. 

The lady who took us through had been not only at the NZ research centre but also the base station at the south pole. The planes never turn off their engines and have to land and unload quickly so the heat from the body of the aircraft doesn’t melt the runway and make it even more dangerous for landing.  The centre is full of displays of how they dig cores through ice, water, sediment and rock to get a record of the history of Antarctica,  It had tropical forests several times when CO2 levels were high..  If it melts again our oceans will rise 2-300 feet around the world.  We were a sober but impressed group.  We also watched a 4D movie of Antarctica filmed from helicopters and on land and underwater.  When water splashed over the boat it splashed on us, the wind blew and at times the chairs shook. The 3D was really good when the penguins spit on the camera, and water on all of us. They also have a penguin rescue centre and we loved the little guys.  Some can be healed and let out in the wild again some have a new home.  We left on a good note. 

When it was over we went across the road and got on our plane to Invercargill. I had a fascinating young seatmate who was in engineering and animatedly explained to me the different qualities of iron depending on how it is treated and what was added, and how we can generate enough electricity to live well without fossil fuels.  

In Invercargill we had lunch at the Salvation Army and I think it will be highlight of all our lunch stops.  NZ is a very secular country, only 20% admit to a religious affiliation of any kind, and most voluntary organizations like Rotary and Lions are having a tough time recruiting new members. But the Salvation Army is doing well.  People see it as relevant, doing good work and it has a ‘young soldiers’ program. They treated us well and the home made feast was great.  

 Gemstone Beach the sound of the rocks was lovely, Jim said it was no good for surfing

I think this was the oldest suspension bridge in the area. 

 The countryside was beautiful, this doesn't do it justice

From there it was a long drive to Te Anue   Lots and lots and lots of sheep and about 1/3 as many cows.  It was dark and raining most of the way. Te Anue is on one of three of the biggest lakes in the world.  The town is small with small hotels strung out along the lakeshore.  It is mostly a summer resort with lots of water and mountain sports.  We went for a lovely walk and talk along the lake after dinner.