Monday, March 27th, Queenstown to Christchurch...

Time to leave Queenstown and return to Christchurch. Our time in New Zealand was coming to an end.

To begin that journey back to Christchurch, John would first stop at June's Fruit Market. Interesting choice. We would be getting on a plane the next day and could not take any fresh foods with us at all. We roamed the fruits and vegetables and noted some things that we don't see in our grocery stores. We purchased two Yum Yum Plums and two Black Peaches. The picture of the black peach does not show the skin on the peach as dark a brown as it is. Both fruits were good but those Yum Yum Plums are exceptionally good. Claude did purchase a bottle of caramelized fig balsamic. What will he find to use that with???

We stopped later at the a nice store. Out front they had a New Zealand flag. 

Our next stop allowed us to see Mt. Cook. This is New Zealand's highest mountain. It had a cloud on the top. From what John explained to us, we were very fortunate to see so much of it. 

We had a nice lunch break at Lake Tekapo. We ate our lunch at the Doughboy Cafe. Claude had a fish burger with a big slice of pickled beet on it! Never thought of putting pickled beets on a sandwich. I ordered a pineapple cheesy. This is basically a grilled cheese sandwich using a white cheese. Pineapple tidbits are sprinkled over the cheese before it is closed, the bread butter and then grilled. It was very good. 

We would walk from our lunch past the shops and restaurant to a set of statues. Claude is standing by a bird that did not fly that is now extinct. It was very large. There was also a statue of a sheep. Merino sheep are one of the major sheep raised in New Zealand. This sheep is known for their fine, soft wool and their ability to thrive in extreme climates. The last statue is a kiwi and it is way big. Real kiwi are about the size of a chicken or rooster. 

We walked further to The Church of the Good Shepherd. A beautiful stone church on the waters edge. There is a 'new' foot bridge to get across the water to the church. We walked over the foot bridge and down to the church. 

Past the church was a monument to the border collie. These dogs were essential in settling the area and herding sheep and/or cattle. 

Back to the coach until the next rest stop. This was in a town and along the edge of their city park. There were wonderful things between the street and the sidewalk with which you could entertain yourself. Claude tried his hand at this big xylophone. Others followed suit. There were two metal drums behind Claude. We patted a rhythm on them while others played the xylophone. Soon we had others dancing. Maybe we were just tired and a bit punchy. It was a fun moment in time. 

When back in Christchurch we checked into the Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square hotel for the night. We would replicate the meal we had when first arrived on the South Island. This time Claude chose pumpkin coconut soup. Yummy. Reminded me of being on the cruise ship and trying a new creamy soup every evening. Before they brought out desserts, McKenna treated us to a Tim Tam Slam. Tim Tam's are a very popular chocolate wafer cookie that is covered in chocolate. She gave each of us milk in a cup. Then we each got a cookie. You took a small bite out of opposite corners of the rectangular treat. Then you put one of the ends that was bitten into the milk. The other bitten end goes in your mouth and you try to suck the milk through the chocolate wafer cookie like a straw. This is called a Tim Tam Slam. Fun.

Time to be sure suitcases are ready for the next day as we would fly to Fiji.