Hot tub with a view

KT enjoys a good soak in a hot tub, so it's no wonder that she couldn't pass up an opportunity to take a dip in a cedar tub with a spectacular view of the Shotover River. Naturally we all wanted to join in. SV wasn't so sure at first, but then she got used to the idea and really enjoyed it. She was a bit sad to have to get out.

Characters

While we were in Queenstown SV ran across some characters that she wanted to deal with. Sometimes she was doing the chasing, and other times she was the one being chased. But ultimately the cookies muncher and his car proved to be too alluring and lured her into their clutches.

Queenstown gondola and luge

Queenstown is the capitol of adventure activities with many attractions such as bungy jumping, paragliding and skydiving. We decided to be slightly less adventurous on our first day and took a gondola to the top of the mountain to take in the view and then have some fun riding the luge. We weren't sure how SV was going to like the luge, but of course we shouldn't have worried. She had a great time telling TV to go fast, and afterwards saying that she had fun. She was only a bit sad because she only got to go once. She did find KT and Richie as they were going up the chairlift.

Arrowtown

Arrowtown is a small town outside of Queenstown and it used to be a gold mining town. It is preserved in a similar state as some of the gold mining towns in California, which is to say as mostly tourist traps with kitschy stores. Although Arrowtown did have a great bakery for pies. We managed to take in the kitsch and make the most of it. Although the nicest attraction were probably the wildflowers along the creek. SV liked them but was tired so she got a piggyback ride from TV. Although she started being a bit cheeky and tickling his ear.

Haast to Wanaka

Making our way back from the west coast across the Haast Pass is a gorgeous road. We stopped to photograph a great waterfall which went under the bridge before lunch. After lunch we stopped to see the blue pools which had that wonderful aquamarine colour from glacial run off. There were even some good sized trout that we could see in the clear water.

We then decided to push on to Wanaka, home of Puzzling World. Puzzling World is a great family stop where we got to play with all sorts of puzzles before going into various rooms with illusions. We finished off the visit with a walk through their maze and then a few more puzzles over a couple of refreshing beverages.

A small horse and the beach

The west coast has some spectacular beaches, and is kind of reminiscent of California's north coast. We wanted to visit the beach at Haast to get a better view, but first we had to get past the guardian of the path. He was a little horse though, and SV was a bit uneasy around him. Eventually we made it to the beach to look for shells and dip our toes in the water. SV actually really liked that. Eventually we found a place to camp and SV got to play with her new toy.

  

Salmon Farm

After heading south from the glaciers we ran across a salmon farm. We decided to stop and have a look at all of the fish and taste some of the goodness. SV really enjoyed watching the fish, but not as much as the chocolate covered ice cream bar. She finished off with a cool beverage as we headed back to the car.