Reunited and on the road

The next morning we were up early and off to Queenstown to meet up with Lisa and start the first big driving leg of our journey. Outside the backpackers, we found her standing with her bags and enormous pack on her back, which was quickly sent to the car so we could enjoy a little bit of Queenstown before we hit the road. After a nice breakfast at a local cafe, we wandered down through the streets, staring into the windows of shops that had yet to open. We meandered our way to the waterfront which was bustling people getting their aquatic tourist attractions ready for the the rousing crowds that were sure to flock their way soon. Extreme activities such as jet boats and a sort of shark submersible jet ski were starting up along side large cruising vessels for the slower paced adventurers. And among all the hustle and bustle, ducks fed and gathered in the shallows and between the piers, seemingly unaware of the action around them.

As the shops started opening, we returned to the streets to poke our heads in a few. It was surprising the speed at which the crowds of people suddenly flooded these slow paced roads, looking for trinkets and bargains. We wandered through a few clothing stores, some souvenir shops, as well as the wool and rock shop again.

One hidden gem however, was the candy shop which much to our delight, had real homemade fudge. Good homemade fudge has not been easy to find in New Zealand so we were ecstatic to find one which also served a great deal of fudge flavours! At the risk of sounding stereotypical, the maple fudge was particularly delicious.

When we had enough fudge, we decided it was time to start the long journey through the Southland countryside to the town of Te Anau. It was bound to be a fairly long drive, although the roads in this part were considerable straighter and in better condition than many of the north island roads we had traveled, making it a bit shorter than expected. The ride was mostly mountains and fields which was wonderful scenery but definitely warranted less stops for pictures than I had expected. Clouds and fog frequently hung to the mountain tops, sides, and sometimes just in the valleys at their base. The clouds got increasingly fewer the farther we traveled leaving a gorgeous sunny blue sky gracing the mountain tops.

Once in Te Anau, we grabbed food for lunch and supper, ate our lunch at the lakeside while waiting for our cabin to be ready, and wandered through the small strip of shops that ran down the small main drag of town. We found the place where our bus would pick us up the next day for the Milford Sound tour and then headed back for supper and sleep.