South Island: Part 2

Tuesday I boarded a train from Blenheim and headed down to Christchurch for one night before flying to Queenstown.  This was my first time on a train & I have to admit that I was quite excited about it!  During the trip I had amazing 360 degree views with my left side being coastline and my right side snowcapped mountains…this spectacular landscape is what I came to see.  I arrived pretty late to yet another new adventure…staying at a Backpacker lodge for the first time.  I can’t stand the word ‘hostel’…which is the official coined term, so I’ll call it the backpackers.  It was quite nice actually.  A comfortable lounge and kitchen where you can cook to your hearts content.  Clean bathrooms with plenty of hot water, a comfy bed, and all for the low price of $30NZD/per night ($20 US Bucks!!)

Wenesday morning’s alarm went off at 5:30 am so I could catch an 8:30 flight down to Queenstown.  The bus drive from ChristChurch to Queenstown is 7-8 hours which is long, but when you want to see the countryside it is a great, cheap way to travel. By plane it takes just under an hour. Since I am only spending a little over a week in the South this trip, I wanted to take advantage of cheap one-way flights so I grabbed a flight down to Queenstown for one leg, and will bus it back for the other leg.  Great idea…except that flights into Queenstown are often a game of rush & roulette as  it is common for the finicky weather to defer a lot of air traffic.  My flight was delayed 2 hours and the weather decided not to lift as expected at take off, so we had to land at an airport in a very southern NZ city called Dunedin.  There we were greeted by coach buses that would take us on a 3 ½ hour drive back up to Queenstown.  My 9:35 arrival time and day in Queenstown turned into a 5:30 arrival time and a very hungry me.  I also missed out on some great aerial views and photos from the plane due to the weather.  Looking at it positively, I was able to see much more of the South Island than I had planned which sure didn’t disappoint, and I have a great excuse to come back down here again!  

Thursday I took a day trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound, it's in Fjiordland National Park a very preserved and protected part of the country, and the drive over takes you right through the beautiful mountains.  The road we took had been closed the previous 2 weeks due to a massive avalanche that blocked the access.  I saw first hand how destructive one of those can be! I then boarded a small cruise boat and floated through the Sounds past spectacular waterfalls & we even saw some fur seals.  It was an unforgettable day.  Today (Friday) was my day to explore the city.  I took a long walk along the edge of Lake Wakatipu and got some great shots of the Mountain view.  I also picked a lunch spot right on the shore & did a little window shopping.  Here are a few shots from the past few days, mostly from Milford Sound & Queenstown. 

Cheers, Rach