For the last couple of days, Apple's Weather Channel app has been telling me it would rain today in Queenstown. All day today it showed it raining - including now, as I type this from the balcony. Not a drop. If you can't trust Apple or the Weather Channel, who can you trust?
As you can see, I trust the people who built and maintain the Skyline Gondola in Queenstown, but I am getting ahead of myself. Queenstown is a big ski resort hub city in midst of snow-capped mountains. Lots of tourist offices, mountain/ski gear purveyors, and bakeries making meat pies. There is a water taxi connecting our hotel with town, but it was canceled today due to the weather forecast and winds, so we took the decidedly less exotic shuttle bus. Ok, the winds were legit on the open lake, but here on our little inlet you see a tourist boat bravely enduring the elements somehow - right now as Victoria naps and I type. I expect a movie about their voyage on our flight back.
OK, so we got into town and quickly got onto the TSS Earnslaw. This is a coal-powered steamer that has been around since the 1800s. Very historic and very cool that you get walk around the engine compartment. Victoria and I walked around in there - twice(!), although she still isn't sure why they are shoveling coal into the cauldron. She loves the fire, the smell, and the pistons firing.
The ship took us to a farm where we saw a sheep getting sheared, fed some deer & sheep, and got some coffee & pastries. We met a couple retired teachers from Washington state in a tour group going around NZ and Australia. Of the following pictures, I must note that the wind had me legitimately worried that I'd lose my iPhone on the rainbow shot - as in both hands clutched on the phone. Otherwise, just a beautiful day. Victoria really liked the animals, although we didn't get too close to the cattle.
So we got back into town and went straight to the Skyline Gondola, hoping to outrun the imminent rain that could be rolling over the mountains any minute. (kinda like waiting for my team to come back against what seemed to be an inferior opponent this past weekend, if I could have watched Virginia Tech or the Steelers) Sorry, I went sad for a moment. The gondola has all sorts of things up top, but they involve speed and adventure at a slightly older level than we can appreciate (bungee, luge rides, etc). One thing I can appreciate is that kids under 5 are free everywhere. Remember that antarctic thing in Christchurch? The VSS Earnslaw? The Gondola? All free for her. The Gondola ride was cool and the views were spectacular (there's that word again). We are in an amazing corner of a gorgeous country.
When she wakes up we'll hit the pool and eat in whatever order seem appropriate. If our adventures continue, I'll post more tonight. Otherwise, I'm signing off. We're heading up the West Coast tomorrow. Of course it is (allegedly) raining there. From what I hear it really is permanently raining on the rugged West Coast. They've got a couple of glaciers (Fox and Franz Joseph) - we plan to see one.
No comments:
Post a Comment