Sheep Shearing and Knickers

23rd February, 2008

...and another exciting adventure. After a quiet day at the van at Queenstown, we set off on the TSS Earnslaw to the other side of this lake and visited an Edwardian homestead for a lovely dinner and then watching a NZ comedian shearing sheep etc. Quite an evening.

Tomorrow we drive up to Mount Cook and transfer into some rather smart cabins for two evenings.

Weather is hot, heavy, and quite changeable.

Lucy - you remember what I said about my underwear in New Zealand - well, I've started!

Quite embarassing actually - especially when a young backpacker asked me if I'd had a good night! Oh dear! Must do better.

Speak to you all soon

Christine and Richard

Queenstown

February 22nd February, 2008

We're now in Queenstown, after another long day. This morning, we were picked up and taken for a 2.5 hour drive through the mountains to Milford Sound, where we had a very pleasant cruise. We came back to the Te Anau campsite, picked up our motorhome and then drove for about 2.5 hours to Queenstown, a very large town on a lake which has a reputation for all sorts of extreme sports. The site we're on is quite horrid, but we're making our opinions felt with the management and we might get somewhere - you never know! Last night's site was so super, this one is a real let-down.

Richard and I went for a quick meal - an small Italian trattoria which was great. He asked for a grappa, and the lady-owner said 'Come with me!" Well, his little eyes lit up and he trotted off - for a grappa tasting, can you believe! Thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Back to the site now and time for bed. It's very humid here, so hope we sleep all right.

Tomorrow we're being by an old steamer - the TSS Earnslaw - across the lake to have a dinner at some sort of posh place on the other side. Easy morning - time to do some shopping and catch up with the chores. Sunday we move on up to the Mount Cook area, which promises to be fantastic. I'm running out of superlative adjectives - has anyone got any more. This country just seems to need them.

Speak to you tomorrow

Christine

Te Anau

Thursday, 21st February

Sorry if I confused everyone with my hasty blog last night, but the computer was about to crash on me! More time tonight.

We're in Te Anau, the most beautiful lakeside town at the foot of the Alps, and the most modern, glamorous site yet. Tomorrow, early, we set off to do a cruise on Milford Sound, which is I understand quite spectacular. Then we're back to this site to pick up the vans and drive up to Queenstown before nightfall, where we stay for 2 nights. There, we're having a special meal on an old, restored motor vessel on another lake (something like Lake Wakatipu, if I remember correctly), and after that we move north again to see the rest of the south island. It's all mind-blowing, so much to see and places to go. We're getting to know the other people on the holiday, which brings me back to my babble of last night:

We got chatting to one other couple at a barbecue that the people escorting us around put on for us, which was very nice indeed, and it turned out that his name is Leo O'Brian and his grandfather, father and uncles ran the oil works business in Brunswick Road (for those who don't know, that's where I was born and brought up in Altrincham). I thought I recognised his wife's face, and I've obviously seen her around. They now live in Timperley Village. We got chatting about scouting (don't know why) and it turned out he was a scout around the time my brother was and my parents were involved etc. And he is a good friend of Judith and Brian Holly - who are good friends of my sister-in-law Ruth and her husband Alan! Then I asked him what he done all his life - and it turned out he was with Manchester Police for 30 years, did his training at Bruche (where I worked for 4 years) and knows Mark Linnell and Alan Jobson very well. Can you believe it? Such a small world.

We have met all sorts of people who are doing similar holidays. One couple we met this afternoon have been on holiday for 3 months now, starting in Thailand, Singapore, all over Australia - including a month at Melbourne with family over Christmas - and now 6 weeks in New Zealand. Then they go to Hong Kong and home. We're wondering why we waited so long before coming here - we should have done it years ago. Richard should have retired years ago, as well. 

Yesterday, we had a really mad day. We were taken up to a penguin reserve at the end of the Otaga Peninsula to see some really rare penguins that a farmer and family are looking after - that was amazing. Then we were taken to Lanarch Castle, further down the peninsula, to hear the story of the Lanarch family - that would make a great soap opera! And finally we were dropped off at the station in Dunedin to take the Taeira Gorge train. Wow - what a journey. We travelled I don't know how many thousand feet up this gorge on a single track, and it was so hot! The sun was just bouncing off the rocks. When we got to the top, there was really nothing there and we came back again. Apparently, the thing was built because there was a gold rush in the 1880's or something and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Certainly a tourist trap now! You can see that this whole holiday will be quite exhausting - we're certainly packing it in. We'll be glad to get to Brisbane and Jane and family to have a rest.

I'll finish now - there's a bit of a queue behind me to use this computer. Will speak to you all again as soon as!

Love to all

Christine and Richard from the Shaky Isles