Another long drive, this time to Queenstown.
It was a rainy day, and the clouds & fog made the mountains look surreal:
We had the coast on one side, and lakes on the other, with mountains in between. It was gorgeous.
The color of the lakes in this region is absolutely unreal - could be a new crayola color.
And some sheep… It’s New Zealand after all.
My favorite stop of the day, Roaring Meg Nature Reserve!
We went out for dinner and drinks with our new friends Loz (left, center), and Brad (right, in front of Vince), and their friends Ash & Sarah. It was Australia Day (somewhat equivalent to 4th of July in the U.S), so it was a fun day to hang out with 4 Australians! Yes, we were all in New Zealand, but the Australians get rowdy there, too.
The next day was sunny, and Queenstown glowed. It’s a pretty mountain/lake town:
After enjoying an unbelievably good $10 lunch deal at a French restaurant (that’s only $7.50 in US $), we headed north for a daytrip to Glenorchy and then a little further north the aptly-named Paradise.
The drive along the lake was breathtaking:
Those are snow-capped mountains in the background:
And yet another obligatory sheep photo:
Once in Glenorchy, we took a hike and this friendly dog joined us. It had a collar (so presumably owners), but he seemed to want company for his afternoon walk.
He waited for us when we took water breaks.
Then he dropped us off at the lagoon, and went on his way.
We got back in the car and drove a little further north to Paradise. In true New Zealand style, the road was a one-lane (two-way) unpaved road.
Both of Glenorchy and Paradise were major locations for The Lord of The Rings. Paradise was the location of Lothlorien, the home of the elves – the sunlight and the lush trees were spectacular. (Taken through the windshield so the clarity is a little compromised)
The mountains, another lake, the colors – it really was movie-like:
We drove back to Queenstown and ended our exciting day with a subdued evening of Subway footlong and work.
No comments:
Post a Comment