One last adventure

In the darkness, we packed the car and piled in for the drive through to Queenstown. Lisa needed to be back early to go for her bungee jump and meet up with the bus that day so in the pitch dark we went across the winding roads. The light slowly began to creep up on the horizon and the shadows of night were replaced by those of the mountains. We arrived in town in time to drop Lisa off and say goodbye till she returned to Auckland a few days later. With a bit of time left, we decided to get the most of what remained and took the lift up the mountain. 

Much like Rotorua, there were Jelly-Belly art work on the walls which we enjoyed including a wonderful world map and the iconic lord of the rings motifs that can be found around the country.

Candy aside, the view outside was well worth the trip up. This was our last big view of the southern alps; of mountains, water, clouds, rivers, and the oh so familiar snow. This grandiose view of the Queenstown area was a nice way to say goodbye to the mountains before we headed back to the mountains and trees of steel and concrete that is Auckland.

We took a nice stroll through the snow, finding one last signpost to pose with before heading back down into the small tourist town. Again we were reminded just how far away from home we were, given that it was closer to get to the south pole than to Vancouver.

Our last destination was the beautiful Shotover where we had stayed our first evening. In snow and better sunlight, the gorge and surrounding area was even more beautiful than the first time. We lingered here as long as we could, not wanting the vacation to end.

Going back into town, we dropped the car off at the rental agency, headed to the airport and grabbed some delicious lunch of pizza, samosas, and some delicious homemade ice cream. We thought back on the last week and the spectacular sights we had seen, and were a bit sad it was all ending. Eventually our flight was called and we proceeded out to the tarmac and onto the plane. The takeoff was a bit unnerving for the poor stewardesses who were constantly having to tell several Korean tourists to sit down, buckle up, put their trays up. After a while they did eventually settle down and we could relax and look out the window.

Just as we thought our South Island trip was over, we were presented with a wonderful gift. The clouds lifted enough for us to see much of the mountain range as we headed northward. The snow-capped mountains rose high into the sky and even when the clouds got thicker, their peaks popped through into the blaring sunlight.

The landscape gave way to braided rivers and fjords, glacial lakes and glacier tongues running down the mountainsides. A whole host of geological wonders seen at a perspective that gives scale to their enormity. It was a pleasant surprise and a wonderful end to our trip.