Wanaka & Queenstown

Avani bailing out our rowboat so we don't sink.
see all photos »

Leaving Franz Josef relatively early, we made our way down to Lake Matheson near Fox Glacier.  It was a nice sunny day, so we hiked around the lake a while.  At one end, we had stunning views of both Mt. Tasman and Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand.  Both were snow-capped, and their images were reflected in the lake.

We stopped by Fox Glacier next on our way down.  Since Avani had missed our Franz Josef experience, we wanted her to see a glacier too.  It was a nice warm day and after a short hike, we reached the terminal face of the glacier.  When we got near, cold winds came whipping down from the glacier making Avani's teeth chatter. The difference in temperature and wind near the glacier was really dramatic.  It was here that Avani had her first contact with a kea, the only alpine parrot in the world.  They are really pretty birds but unfortunately they've  become somewhat of a pest here as a result of being fed by tourists.  The trauma of having a kea try to steal Avani's hot cross bun is now a story that lives on in a "rooster kicked Addie" fashion.

vegetables and cheese in a U-shaped shell

Feeding Snowdrop.
see all photos »

With so many places to see along the way, and at our usual snail's pace of travel, we didn't make it to Wanaka until after dark.  Wanaka itself is a mountainous region more popular and well-known as a winter ski resort town.  The surrounding mountains are rocky, with few trees.  It is east of both Milford Sound and Queenstown, which seems to suck any moisture out of the region.

We stayed at a cottage on a working 10,000 acre sheep farm where we saw one of the border collies do some pretty impressive herding of about 60 sheep in just a few minutes.  Indira and Avani also had a chance to feed chickens (definitely NOT Avani's favorite), ducks and a horse named Snowdrop.  It was nice to relax a while, eat & drink well (see Wanaka BeerWorks review), do laundry, and spend a few days in the warm sun.  The farm was next to Lake Wanaka and had a rowboat for use.  We realized only after getting out on the water that the rowboat had a hole, giving Avani her first lesson in bailing out a boat.  Only in retrospect is it funny.

Mt Tasman and Mt Cook
see all photos »

After Wanaka, we wound our way down to Queenstown, adventure capital of New Zealand.  The Remarkables mountain range that surrounds Queenstown was often used in Lord of the Rings shots.  There are many active outdoor sports to engage in here, including bungy, jetboating, and river rafting.  Since we had not arranged for a sitter and were only there for the day, we instead walked around the town center, shopped and ate well.  We opted for excellent dim sum, turning down the NZ$22 veggie taco, which was described as "vegetables and cheese in a U-shaped shell".