Central Otago

Most of our drive back from Queenstown was spent traveling
through Central Otago. Otago is a region of New Zealand,
similar to a State or Province. It's a beautiful part of the
country, full of tall mountains, wide rivers and lots and lots
of sheep. There were even a few wineries tucked in here
and there. We also stopped at a nice little "touristy" town
called Arrowtown, which was an old gold mining town turned
shopping and dining center. A pretty area, but not that
unique. Most of the day was just spent driving. It was nice
to be on a road trip again.

Queenstown

The couple of times we've been to Queenstown, we haven't
been that lucky with the weather. Although it wasn't a
downpour, it sprinkled off and on all day. We did get
a good view of the mountains surrounding the lake though.


Queenstown is located on Lake Wakatipu and is a year round
destination for adventure travelers. Lots of activities
including skiing, hiking, mountain climbing and even
bungy jumping are located here.


Another side of Queenstown that attracts many people is
shopping. It reminds us a little of Estes Park (where we used
to live in Colorado).

Driving To Queenstown

Today went rented a car and took off out of town to Queenstown.
Not a short drive, but not unreasonable for a day long drive.
Along the way we drove by the Church of The Good Shepherd on
Lake Tekapo. We'd visited here before about seven years ago but
since a wedding was just finishing, we were able to peak inside.
It's pretty tiny but has a fantastic view!


Just a few miles down the road is Lake Pukaki, which was formed by
a similar hydro project to the one that formed Lake Tekapo. However,
at the far end of Lake Pukaki stands Mt. Cook...or Aoraki as it is known
in Maori. Mt. Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand, standing
3754 meters or 12,316 feet. Much of the time it's surrounded by clouds,
so we lucked out seeing it today.


Speaking of luck, it's also St. Patrick's Day and ironically, we ran across
another small church...St. Patrick's of all places! Located in the hamlet
of Burkes Pass.