I got up at 4 AM (!) and was on an airport van at 5 AM with a boxed breakfast, which I had time to eat before boarding my flight to Sydney. After four flights and some anxious moments with flight delays, I arrived back home at 12:20 AM on the same day (regaining the day I lost on my departure from home). It was indeed the vacation of a lifetime with a variety of great experiences and wonderful memories, one I’ll never forget.
On our last tour day, we took the ferry from Auckland to Waiheke Island and had a leisurely driving tour, stopping at Rangihoua Estate for olive oil tasting and at Mudbrick Vineyard for lunch.
Auckland Harbour
Waiheke Island
Olive oil tasting, Rangihoua Estate
Wine tasting and luncheon, Mudbrick Vineyard
We had a wonderful farewell dinner and exchanged hugs and goodbyes – a great end for a great trip. I went to bed early to prepare for a very early wake-up call for the return trip home.
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We left Queenstown early after breakfast on our charter plane for Rotorua and visited the Te Puia Maori Cultural Center in the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. We had a Maori welcoming ceremony with songs and dances and a tour of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. Pohutu Geyser was spectacular.
Weaving School, Maori Cultural Center
Carving School, Maori Cultural Center
Presentation of traditional Maori songs and dances, Maori Cultural Center
Pohutu Geyser, Rotorua
After a quick tour of Rotorua, we drove to Longland’s Dairy Farm for lunch and then through Matamata (but the Hobbiton set was, sadly, not on our tour) and on to Auckland.
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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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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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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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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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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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Fortunately the sun came out for our city tour of Wellington. We had a guided tour of the Parliament Buildings followed by a cable car ride up to Kelburn just outside of the Botanic Garden.
View of Wellington Harbour from my room at the Copthorne Hotel
View of Wellington from Kelburn
Our tour ended with a guided visit of the Te Papa Tongarewa National Museum, and I decided to spend the rest of the day there. The geologic, historical and Maori exhibits are absolutely fantastic, and there is also a “bush city” where they are growing their own rainforest! From the museum it was a relatively short walk back to the hotel along the harbour front; it was extremely windy but otherwise pleasant. I joined several folks for dinner at the Lone Star, a Texas style restaurant that serves extremely generous portions in a very lively atmosphere – judging from the crowd, it seems to be “the happening place” in Wellington. We all probably should have dressed warmer, however, as it was a cold windy walk back to our hotel.
Te Papa Tongarewa National Museum, Wellington
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A very long day with no time for sightseeing started with an early breakfast and leaving our hotel at 7 AM for the airport for our flight to Wellington and the New Zealand security/customs/immigration clearance. Our hotel had a nice view of Wellington Harbour, although unfortunately it was raining upon our arrival, and we were awakened by several downpours during the night.
Views of Wellingon Harbour from my room at the Copthorne Hotel
