OK, you got me. It’s really day 1 AND day 2. During the first day the dozen or so cruise passengers going to Queenstown got up early, went thru customs (again) and made our way to the Auckland airport. 90 minutes later and we have this view.
These are the Remarkable Mountains, and they were the backdrop for Mordor in the Lord of the Rings. Yep, it’s going to be that kind of trip.
On the way to the hotel we stopped for lunch in Arrowtown, where I had an excellent beef brisket sandwich (I wish I remembered to ask what type of cheese they used). We then had a wander around the town and visited the Chinese mining section. This region of New Zealand went thru a “gold rush” in the 1860s, similar to California during the late 1840s. Folks from all over came to pan and/or mine for gold, amongst them Chinese immigrants. We strolled down the path lined with replicas of the old houses and information plaques.
A bit of history mixed with a bit of virtue signalling. The main street of Arrowtown is now lined with kind-of upscale shops, but the general store still had a sense of humor. There were lovely flowers as well (remember, this is New Zealand summer).
We then went to Queenstown proper and found our hotel. I’m not a fan of the hotel, as the rooms are converted from condos; however, the dinner was excellent. The hotel does have a great view of Lake Wakitipu. The next day was a helicopter ride over the fjords, depending on the weather.
Nope.
The temperature dropped by more that 15degF (7degC) and the morning was rainy. The helicopter guys cancelled, which was probably a good thing. Our tour guides moved our day 3 event to today and we were off to Glenorchy. As we drove north our guide explained that with the combination of lunar new year and the New Zealand Open golf tournament, the area was more crowded than normal.
I’ll start with a map looking over the lightning bolt-shaped lake. Queenstown is the corner of the side and downwards-facing (South) of the bolt, with Glenorchy at the northern-most point. The whole area just screams “Glacier Valleys!”
We drove from Queenstown to Glenorchy along the river road with our driver giving us general information along the way, such as Kiwi Fruit originated in China! It was still rainy and cloudy.
Back in the day there were a series of steam boats that circled the lake bringing supplies and picking up cargo. Glenorchy was a tungsten mining area. Now it has a few pubs and lives on tourism. Near to the pier is a large “boat house” where cargo was stored, waiting for the next steam boat. In there we met another tour group, this time on a Lord of the Rings themed tour. The guide was selling LotR jewelry. All perfectly licensed, I”m sure.
I had hot chocolate at “Casa Jaguar” Mexican restaurant and lunch in a pub. Walking back to the van we spotted a photo backdrop with totally-not-Gandalf.
Next up: sheep shearing!