Woke up a little late and walked to Steamer Wharf through the side of the lake and passing through Queenstown garden. The garden was really pretty, with ducks and birds roaming freely, river and bridges, people with children and picnic baskets, benches and gazebos, small white flowers sprouting from the green grass..
There's a small market near the Steamer Wharf with stalls selling various stuff like pottery, jewellery, paintings, clothes, cards, etc.
We went for TSS Earnslaw excursion which departed on 12 noon.
Description taken from the ship brochure:
TSS Earnslaw was built in 1912 to service the remote farming communities around lake Wakatipu. The TSS Earnslaw worked primarily as a cargo ship servicing farming communities, and was capable of carrying 1,500 sheep and 30 cattle on her decks. Currently the TSS Earnslaw carries 350 passengers on daily scheduled excursions. Named after Mt Earnslaw, situated at the head of Lake Wakatipu and the highest peak in the region, the TSS Earnslaw became known as the 'Lady of the Lake'. Now the only surviving vessel of the original fleet of steamers, the TSS Earnslaw is also one of the last remaining coal-fired passenger-carrying vessles still operating in the Southern Hemisphere.
The journey to Walter Peak Farm took about 40 mins and then passengers disembarked at Walter Peak Farm for an outdoor BBQ lunch. The BBQ was cooked on the lake-facing terrace in front of the Colonel's homestead. Menu: salad, steamed rice, roasted potatoes, pork sausages, spare ribs, chicken drumlets, beef steak, steamed fish fillet, various crackers and cheese.
After the sumptuous lunch, we went to watch the sheep farming and sheep shearing demonstration. The farmers used a dog to guide groups of sheeps as they are roaming freely in a big area. It was amazing to watch how obedient the dog was to the commands given by the farmer, and how scared the sheeps was of the dog, how they ran and ran when chased by the dog.
We also got the opportunity to feed the cute fat sheeps and touch their rough wooly body. It's a bit smelly and dirty but it's so fun! Sheeps have teeth only at their lower jaw and not their upper jaw. For shearing, in the old days farmers use a big scissors-like tool, but now they're using electronic shaver. Things have changed, but one thing never change: the farmers still need to catch the sheep. Once the shearing is done, the sheep looked really skinny and ugly..
We managed to attend Saturday Vigil mass at St. Joseph's church at Queenstown. The church is so small it looks like a chapel, and there were quite a number of Asians. Glad to find some familiar hymns sung during the mass.
After the mass we went for a walk around town area. Dropped by at Wharf Casino for a free house wine drink - didn't taste nice, though. Then we managed to squeeze in some shopping time and then we had a warm spa session at copthorne.
The journey to Walter Peak Farm took about 40 mins and then passengers disembarked at Walter Peak Farm for an outdoor BBQ lunch. The BBQ was cooked on the lake-facing terrace in front of the Colonel's homestead. Menu: salad, steamed rice, roasted potatoes, pork sausages, spare ribs, chicken drumlets, beef steak, steamed fish fillet, various crackers and cheese.
After the sumptuous lunch, we went to watch the sheep farming and sheep shearing demonstration. The farmers used a dog to guide groups of sheeps as they are roaming freely in a big area. It was amazing to watch how obedient the dog was to the commands given by the farmer, and how scared the sheeps was of the dog, how they ran and ran when chased by the dog.
We also got the opportunity to feed the cute fat sheeps and touch their rough wooly body. It's a bit smelly and dirty but it's so fun! Sheeps have teeth only at their lower jaw and not their upper jaw. For shearing, in the old days farmers use a big scissors-like tool, but now they're using electronic shaver. Things have changed, but one thing never change: the farmers still need to catch the sheep. Once the shearing is done, the sheep looked really skinny and ugly..
We had sing a long session on the journey back on board TSS Earnslaw to Queenstown. There's one grand piano on board with one pianist playing some familiar tunes like eidelweiss, my bonnie, pokarekare ana, etc.
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After the cruise we went for Milford Sound Flightseeing. Travelled by cab to the hangar at Frankton, and then we travelled from there to Milford Sound by britton-norman islander plane that can carry up to 9 passengers + 1 pilot. What an amazing view from up there.. the snowy mountains looked like blocks of roughly cut chocolates with sugar sprinkled on top of them..
We managed to attend Saturday Vigil mass at St. Joseph's church at Queenstown. The church is so small it looks like a chapel, and there were quite a number of Asians. Glad to find some familiar hymns sung during the mass.
After the mass we went for a walk around town area. Dropped by at Wharf Casino for a free house wine drink - didn't taste nice, though. Then we managed to squeeze in some shopping time and then we had a warm spa session at copthorne.
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