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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