Friday, March 24th, Franz Josef to Queenstown

Time to leave this sweet hotel in Franz Josef. I took this picture as we left. The windows fogged and there are reflections, but you can tell we were in the bush. 

We would board our coach for the drive this day to Queenstown. 

Our first stop would be at South Westland Salmon Farm. These people raise salmon in pens in the water. They built a restaurant above the pins on pylons. This is where the salmon are served. I bought a lovely black scarf with silver fern leaves on it. The silver fern has been accepted as a symbol of New Zealand's national identity since the 1880s. To Māori, the elegant shape of the fronds stood for strength, stubborn resistance, and enduring power. To Pākehā (New Zealanders of non-Māori descent), the fern symbolized their sense of attachment to their homeland. 

Back on the coach for more driving.

We stopped to view a beautiful waterfall. 

These are pictures of the walk to and from this waterfall.

Back on the coach to get a little closer to Queenstown.

John, our coach driver, had a place picked out for us to have lunch. He called ahead and found out the restaurant had turned away three busses because of short staff and inability to keep up. John drove us to Haast. We went to the Hard Antler's Cafe and bought food to be eaten later. I got a croissant with sun-dried tomatoes and Bree cheese. This was our first encounter with talking toilets. More about that later in this day. Back on the coach to Makarora for a break and to eat our lunch. We found a nice bench and enjoyed our sandwiches.

More driving to Queenstown followed.

This bridge is the bridge where bungy jumping got its start. More pictures of this later. This started in 1988.

We had another rest stop in Arrowtown. This is an old mining town. It has an area with lots of shops and places to eat. Claude and I walked the streets but purchased nothing. 

This is where I will explain about the talking toilets. We encountered them again here.  When the light on the door is green, it is available. Press the green light. The toilet says "the door is opening now". The pocket door slides open and you enter. The door automatically slides closed and locks itself and the toilet says "you have 10 minutes". You go about whatever you came there for. If you finish before 10 minutes, you flush and wash your hands. Either of these actions will allow you to press the button on the inside of the door and it will say "the door is now opening". You exit. It is all very strange!!

We made it to Queenstown. Checked into the Holiday Inn Express & Suites for the next three nights. Then we met our group in the lobby. We would walk to our dinner destination. This involved walking down a steep hill and then turning and following main street to the docks. We would board the TSS Earnslaw Steam Ship for a ride across Lake Wakatipu. This ride was about 30 minutes. 

Our goal was the Walter Peak High Country Farm where we were to have a BBQ dinner followed by a sheep shearing and sheep dog demonstration. Claude and I went anticipating a campfire, baked beans and corn on the cob. Very rustic. Well...not so much. This was an elegant building with linen table cloths and a buffet full of very upscale foods. I did not taste BBQ sauce once. Claude said he had a faint taste on one thing he ate. Clearly New Zealand sees a BBQ differently than we do in the United States. Lesson learned. The food was excellent.

After dinner we walked down a lighted pathway to a barn type stadium seating arena with a stage in the front. This stage would be for the sheep shearing demonstration. The kid brought the sheep out and set it on its haunches. This is a position from which the sheep cannot right itself. It is not painful or hurtful for the sheep. In fact it is the position from which the shearer will start his work. It didn't take long before the sheep was shorn and happily put back in the pen behind the stage. 

The a light was turned on and you realized there was a hill beyond the stage and corral. The sheep dog was set free on the hill. The young man uses terms in Gaelic and whistles to give the sheep dog commands. The dog finds the sheep hidden on the hill and guides them down to the corral opening, much to the delight of the audience. 

We walked back down the lighted path to the dock, boarded the TSS Earnslaw Steam Ship for the 30 minute trip back to Queenstown's dock. Once at the dock we found our way back thru the mass of people out for Friday night fun in downtown Queenstown. Eventually we found THE HILL. I almost made it to the top before I had to stop and catch my breath. I do not have the lung capacity I once had. When I made it to the top of the hill, I was sure I had just done the Women's Pull on a Pioneer Trek!! 

We made our way to our nice room and collapsed in bed. 

Some more tidbits from today's travels:

• They get 25 feet of rain each year in those forests along the West Coast.
• The people living on the West Coaster call themselves Coasters.
• Saw a sign in window stating 'Guide Dogs Welcome". The thought in my head was, "Who is going to read the sign." Not the dog!!
• Joke from John: Why did the possum cross the road? The see his flat mate!
• There was a building that looked out of place. John explained it was a shed and the owner painted it a bright red. The local council said he couldn't do that on main road. In protest he painted the shed camouflage. Over front door it says Shhh. The roof says "World Secret HQ".  Oh my, sweet revenge.
• There were very tall trees in the bush. Taller than any of the others. John explained the were cut down and used to make butter boxes. Years ago, butter was something they shipped to Europe. These trees were good for this because they have no fragrance. 
• We saw cows that were black on the front, white around their bellies and black on the back. They are called Belted Galloway. But the locals call them Oreo cows.
• Most of the telephone or power poles had a silver band wrapped around them about half way up the pole. The bands are to stop the opossums from climbing them and chewing the top of pole.
• We crossed a bridge colorfully named: The Wind Bag.
• Very seldom did we find small bags of chips to go with our sandwiches.
• John told us they call RV's "Road Slugs".
• A farm is called a Station.
• We passed two lakes, Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka. These lakes descended from the same glacier that split in half.
• We passed the 45th parallel. This means we were half-way between the equator and the south pole. 
• The vineyards have roses planted around them to attract aphids and bugs before they get to the grapes.
• Parking lots are called car parks.