This morning we sailed across Lake Wakatipu to the Walter Peak Sheep Station, where we viewed a sheep shearing demonstration and sheep dog trial prior to lunch. We also had the opportunity to feed the deer, sheep and lambs. We talked about how wonderful it must be to wake up to such beautiful scenery every morning.

On the deck of the TSS Earnslaw

Sheep shearing demonstration

Lamb feeding

Our afternoon was free, and I chose to visit the Kiwi Birdlife Park. I was fortunate enough to spot two kiwis in one of the kiwi houses, but due to photography restrictions could not take any photos in the kiwi house (kiwis are nocturnal and are sensitive to light). There were other native New Zealand birds to enjoy as well. I concluded my day with some shopping in town.

Yellow Crowned Parakeet, Kiwi Birdlife Park

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• Kiwi Birdlife Park
• Steamship Cruise to Walter Peak Sheep Station

This was an absolutely fantastic day with great weather and beautiful scenery! We took a bus ride on Skippers Road (occasionally looking down with some trepidation into Skippers Canyon) on route to an exhilarating jet boat ride on the Shotover River. During that ride I encountered my first Lord of the Rings location – the Ford of Bruinen from The Fellowship of the Ring.

Departure from the pier

Jet boat ride on the Shotover River seen from a canyon overlook

Location for the Ford of Bruinen (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) on the Shotover River

Due to the arrival of threatening clouds, our helicopters took us back to the airport rather than to the top of Bob’s Peak as originally planned. The clouds cleared away, fortunately, so after arriving back at my hotel I walked to the Skyline Gondola and rode up to the Bob’s Peak terminal for beautiful panoramic views of The Remarkables mountain range and Queenstown.

Queenstown and the Remarkables from the top of Bob’s Peak

I returned to the hotel in time for my long-awaited Lord of the Rings tour. We visited several of the movie locations as well as the town of Glenorchy and had our picnic lunch in “Lothlorien”.

Lord of the Rings movie locations:

Oliphant and Stewed Coneys (The Two Towers), Twelve Mile Stream

Lothlorien (The Fellowship of the Ring), near Glenorchy

Isengard (The Two Towers), near Paradise

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• Lord of the Rings Country
• Queenstown Skyline Gondola
• Skippers Canyon and Jet Boating

We left Te Anau by bus, driving past sheep and deer farms, for a 2-1/2 day stay in Queenstown, stopping at the Amisfield Winery for lunch and wine tasting and driving through Arrowtown before checking in at our hotel mid-afternoon. The surrounding Remarkables mountain range and Lake Wakatipu are absolutely beautiful.

Deer herd on route to Queenstown

Amisfield Winery

I took a quick orientation walk and found shops and restaurants within a 10-15 minutes of our hotel, but that evening I chose to rest up in my room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel instead to prepare for the long busy day ahead.

View of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables from my room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel

Strolling through Queenstown

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On the Road to Queenstown

Our visit to Fiordland National Park almost didn’t happen as the main road was closed the day before due to an avalanche, but we got lucky and the road was re-opened just in time. The Fiordland National Park has spectacular scenery, and we visited Mirror Lakes and the Chasm and drove through the Homer Tunnel. Geographically speaking, we were halfway between the Equator and the South Pole.

Mirror Lakes, Fiordland National Park

The Chasm, Fiordland National Park

We arrived at Milford Sound for our cruise on the Pride of Milford and had lunch in our own VIP Lounge. I managed to take quite a few pictures, including one of a seal pup, before the rain came in.

Seal pup at Milford Sound

Milford Sound from the deck of our cruise ship

On the way back to our hotel, the rain changed to snow, but the sun eventually came back out again so we encountered no driving difficulties. That evening I joined several of our group for dinner at the Moose Pub next door to our hotel.

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• Milford Sound Cruise
• Mirror Lakes
• The Milford Road
• The Chasm

This was the first day on our private charter plane. After checking out of our Wellington hotel, we flew to Blenheim Air Force Base and then took a bus to Marlborough Sound for a luncheon cruise. Along the way, our bus driver talked about his family tourism business as well as regional sheep farming and vineyards.

This was our only bad day weather-wise as it rained throughout the cruise, but we enjoyed green-shelled mussels, wine and a salmon lunch indoors. Some of the folks started up a singalong and dancing with music from someone’s iPod, so we ended up having a fun time in spite of the weather.

Our cruise ship at Marlborough Sound

Sampling green-shelled mussels

After the cruise we drove back to the airport and boarded our plane for a flight to Manapouri. The rain finally ended by the time we got there, and there was beautiful scenery on the drive to our hotel in Te Anau where we had nice lakeside and mountain views from our rooms.

Our private charter plane

Lake and mountain views from my room at the Te Anau Hotel

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Marlborough Sound Cruise