April 22, 2010
Here are the pictures from our Milford Sound and Franz Josef Glacier trips.
For those of you who are in these pictures and you wish to download copies, right-click on the images you like and the click Save Image. This will save the images to your computer.
NOTE: If you wish to have the larger originals, register on my site and then contact me using the messaging system built into this site. I will help you get the originals instead of the smaller sized images.
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This morning, we started out for our activity at 8:15am, the latest of any of the days we have been here so far.
On Tuesday we left at 6am to make it for our Milford Sound cruise at 10:30 and left the apartment at 4:45 Wednesday morning to get to our Franz Josef Glacier hike. It was so nice to sleep in today!
We arrived at the Queenstown Rafting start point to get our wetsuits, booties, dry-gear, oars and life vests before taking a 45-minute bus ride up and over a mountain to the drop-off point to begin our rafting trip down the Shotover.
The journey to the point was on a mountain road cut out by gold miners way way back when gold was being mined out of this area, probably over a hundreds years back or so. The road was dirt the majority of the way and just wide enough for one car, or in our case a bus. If oncoming traffic was present, someone had to back up to a point along the steep mountain cliff to where the other could pass. If you have a fear of heights, you should sleep on the bus. Otherwise, this road may cause you to pass out from fear, especially if you look out the windows and down!
Our float down the Shotover lasted around 2 hours. It was a really fun rafting trip and no one from our boat went overboard. However, one woman from the Kuwahara boat did go overboard; an woman from New York who had rafted one other time many years ago. I guess rafting is not like riding a bike?
The rafting driver for our boat, luckily, had learned a little Japanese while doing rafting tours in Australia. He did a great job telling everyone what to do in nihongo! His name is Tom! For those Japanese reading this, get him to be your driver and you will go down river without a hitch.
Hats off to Tom and Chris, a 19-year old guy who is learning to be a rafting guide-driver. You guys did a good job today and made the trip very fun for everyone. The conversation was also great.
After rafting, we went on a little drive around the area, found some sheep and a shepherd and his dogs and took some photos. Then we went shopping at our favorite place, Fresh Choice, bought groceries for tonight and tomorrow morning and then took the van back to Hertz.
After that, we went downtown and shopped for omiyage, drank coffee at Starbucks where we met a girl from Toyonaka, Osaka and then came back to our apartment where we are now preparind mussels, vegetables, meats and breads for dinner. Wine and beer to wash it all down!
Tomorrow: Auckland!
April 21, 2010
We are just about to leave for Franz Josef Glacier to do some hiking and sightseeing.
This has been a beautiful trip. But then of course, it’s very difficult to find anything not beautiful in New Zealand!
Will post pictures of our trip today and yesterday later tonight.
April 19, 2010
We took the gondola up to the top of the mountain, explained in one of the previous posts. It was a beautiful ride up the mountain. At the top, we first shopped then we hiked around a bit before doing the luge ride. Then after that, we hiked a bit more through some forest and up and down the mountain before heading back to the restaurant at the top of the mountain overlooking Queenstown.
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The luge ride was a blast! I highly recommend doing it. But I believe the company would do better to allow two rides for the current price to allow people who are beginners another chance around to enjoy the ride even more than the first time. Still, everyone had a lot of fun riding their luges down the track, some ever so slowly.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of Queenstown and offers a really nice buffet with lots of savory seafood dishes, pies, salads, breads, stews and soups, meats and vegetables. We ate our fill!
On our hike through the pine forest, we found lots of mushrooms among the tall pines. Of course we did not eat any of them because they are most likely poisonous. But they sure looked delicious!
After all the fun on top of the mountain, we picked up our van and drove around outside the city limits to see what is just north near the Shotover river. We watched the Shotover jet boat going at that time zipping up and down the river with the riders screaming their heads off enjoying the thrilling ride. It looked like a lot of fun and everyone in the group said they would love to ride it, if we had time. Probably not!
From the Shotover, we headed back to our favorite shopping market, Fresh Choice, and picked up some more groceries.
NOTE: Most other markets in town are tourist traps and would get more business if they lowered their prices. Anyone going to Queenstown should shop at Fresh Choice to save money!
When we got back to our place, the Heritage Apartments, we began cooking our dinner. Everyone said they were not hungry, but fixed tons of food! Tons! It was huge and we didn’t eat it all, but it sure was good. Pumpkin, salad, roasted chicken, egg and cheese omelete, bread, grapes, blackberries, mushrooms (not picked from the forest) and very dark beer.
Everyone ate well. This time, however, without stuffing themselves. Now, it is time to prepare for tomorrow.
Milford Sound here we come!
More tomorrow…
Here are photos from yesterday!
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What a bummer! We had our hearts set on ballooning here in Queenstown, but because the weather is Boss, our hot air ballooning experience today has been cancelled.
I woke up early this morning at 6am to call Sunrise Balloons and got their recording saying the today’s flight had been cancelled due to unsuitable weather.
Instead of hot air ballooning today, we are going to take the steepest gondola in the southern hemisphere up a mountainside to the top of the mountain and do some hiking. After a short hike, we will eat a buffet lunch at the restaurant at the top of the mountain overlooking Queenstown.
After that, still pending…
April 18, 2010
We have just arrived in Auckland and are now waiting for our connecting flight to Queenstown. The flight should be around one hour long and put us in Queenstown around lunch time.
Our flight from Seoul, Korea to Auckland was smooth, however, it was very difficult to get sleep on the plane. Still, considering we have had a lack of sleep for the past 24 hours, we are doing well and everyone is genki…lively.
Next stop, Queenstown…
April 17, 2010
We have made it to the airport safely and gotten through immigration without any problems. There are many people here at the airport trying to get home but cannot because their flights toward Europe have been cancelled from the volcanic eruption that happened in Iceland. We, however, are fine going to New Zealand.
Everyone in the group is excited about our trip. Many of us who have traveled together previously are reflecting on our prior trips together. It is making our anticipation even greater as we talk about all the fun things we have done together.
For now, we are at the airport waiting our plane to Seoul, Korea.
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More posted later as our trip progresses…
April 13, 2010
Just a few more days to go! Hope you guys are starting to pack your suitcases. Don’t forget your passport!
I'm an American living and working in the Kyoto area of Japan. I teach English and work at a church in Osaka. When I have free time, I travel. Those who know me, ask me to take them on tours to places abroad to give them a different experience from what they normally get using HIS or JTB tours. I have been guiding people since 1998.
