We're picked up by Newmans Coach at our hotel early in the morning, and off we went to Queenstown, total distance: 420km.
We had a brief stop at Southwestland Salmon Farm and tried their salmon melt.. yummy!
The coach journey was really scenic and enjoyable as we made several stops along the way for photo opportunities.
First stop was at Knights Point lookout, overlooking Tasman sea. According to Wikipedia,
Knight's point was named after the dog of an employee of the Ministry of Works, which undertook the major roading project connecting South Island's east coast across Haast Pass and up the west coast to join the Coast road.
Then we stopped at Ship Creek Walks and also Thunder Creek Falls for more sightseeing as well as phototaking.
We had lunch break at Makarora Country Cafe: fish & chips and beef & cheese pie and ice cream! Their ice cream is considered cheap compared to their food price, and the portion is huge!
Stopped by Lake Hawea lookout and also Lake Wanaka. Today we really saw it all.. clear blue skies, majestic snowy Southern Alps, the sea, shimmering lakes with different shades of blue, waterfalls, greeny hills and valleys and plains with sheeps and cows and horses, beautiful flowers blooming like there's no tomorrow.. *sigh contentedly*.. what more can a man ask for.
and the best of it all.. as far as your eyes can see.. there's no other people enjoying those magnificent views beside yourselves.. it's so deserted as if you have it all for yourself... *sigh again*
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just a side note, NZ has a total area of 268,680 km square, with population of 4.2 million people, which means a density of 15/km square.
We checked in at Copthorne Hotel Resort in the afternoon. Our room has a beautiful view to the Lake Wakatipu, snowy mountains and the hilly city.
Walked to Queenstown city centre and up to Skyline Gondola. Took the package of gondola + 3 luge rides. They have 2 different 800 metres luge tracks: first ride of the day has to be in scenic track, and another one is called advance track with all the exciting ups and downs.
Had dinner at PJ fish: hokki fish with chips and coleslaw.
Note taken from Queenstown magazine in hotel room:
Queenstown was so named because 'it was fit for Queen Victoria'. Nestled on the shores of beautiful Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is surrounded by the majestic remarkables mountain range in the snow rich Southern Alps. The town sits at 310 metres above sea levels. Originally a 1860's goldmining camp, Queenstown has a compact and sophisticated downtown area tucked into a picturesque bay.
Legend taken from a brochure:
The original name of Lake Wakatipu was Whakatipua - the hollow of the giant. Legend has it that Matau the tipua (giant) stole the maiden Manata from her father's home. Her lover, Matakauri searched and found her tied to the sleeping giant by a seemingly unbreakable cord. Weeping bitterly, Manata's tears dissolved the cord and the couple escaped.
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Returning later, Matakauri set the sleeping giant alight as the hot northwesterly wind blew. Waking in agony, the giant drew up his legs as the fat from his body fed the hot flames, scouring a great hole in the earth. The fierce heat melted the snow from the surrounding peaks, filling in the deep hollow - his bent legs creating the curious bend in the lake that exists today.
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All that was left of the giant was his beating heart far beneath the waters of the lake. According to the legend, Matau's heartbeat explains the mysterious rise and fall of Lake Wakatipu.
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