Pinot

Our last day had arrived and instead of grinding through another hike we decided to take it easy for the day. We started by taking in a local rugby game. The talent was not close to that we had been watching on TV but was still mildly entertaining. 

We then took in some breakfast with a pair of breakfast burritos. In contrast to the tacos I had tried two days earlier this was very well executed and extremely filling.  

We waddled out of the restaurant and took a walk down the waterfront. 

Queenstown is a beautiful little town. Its reminds me a lot of the smaller ski towns in Colorado only with the advantage of being on the water. After exploring the city we set off to our car. To our shock the car parked directly behind us had been hit overnight and was in not great shape. The tiida almost saw its last days...

Dodging that bullet we set off for wine country. Unbeknownst to us, southern New Zealand is a blooming wine area and we were only 30 min away from a slew of wineries. We took a few tours and saw the whole process. It was a good time to go because they were in the middle heavy production.

We even got to tour New Zealand's largest wine cave

Having never been in a wine cave I had no idea if this was impressive or not but it looked neat.

I think I was most impressed by the cool temperature which is consistent all year round. I need to build my next place in an old wine cave.

As we drove to various wineries we were greeted by the nice scenery, just like everywhere in the Queenstown area.

There were even speed cameras on the small gravel cliff side roads. I don't think this was going to be an issue for us.

Since I was driving we had to call it quits before things got out of hand. We returned the tiida and made our way to the airport. The bar featured a solid view of the whole operation.

We boarded our flight and headed back to Auckland.

I again had to run to make it to my flight back to the states. The event was not quite as involved as my LAX adventure but my legs were sore from hiking and running was not kind to them. I did not have time to eat anything before we left but I did grab a snack in Queenstown before we left. 

This was probably the most exotic thing I was able to find while overseas. Oh well, not everywhere can be adventurous as Asia or Africa. Having made my flight I plugged into the entertainment system, nerded out a bit, and then fell asleep for most of the flight.

Until next time

Roys Workout

We had one full day we could devote to either the Milford Sound or Roy's Peak. The sound would have included 7 hours in the car so we elected to try Roy's Peak which was only an hour or so away. We headed off and took a shortcut through a mountain pass. 

We caught some pretty neat views on the way

After winding through the local roads we arrived at the trail head. 

The guide book said the whole trip would take 6 hours so we headed up.

We were surrounded by free roaming sheep for the first half of the trek. 

They were not the smartest creatures I have ever encountered. 

The trail was also littered with an overwhelming amount of sheep crap. Avoiding it was not an option.

As we reached higher ground the dung path lightened up a bit. Peter decided to show off his adventurous side.

We eventually started to reach the peaks of the lower mountains. We were still only halfway up to the peak.

It was at this point we decided to take a break and grab some lunch. The whole hike is uphill and both of our legs were killing us. Before leaving town we had grabbed a few things for our picnic. We had a loaf of bread, some cold chicken thighs, a block of blue cheese, and some water. We made tasty little sandwiches and enjoyed the view. 

After some much needed rest it was back to the trail.

After around 3 hours we finally made it to the top.

The views did not disappoint. 

It was really windy at the top so after we got our fill we headed right back down. 

All in all it was a pretty awesome hike that took most of our day to complete. I was able to get a shot showcasing how deep I really am.

We made it back to town and were both pretty whipped. The 4,200 feet of elevation change was a little more than we were expecting. We grabbed some takeout and ate dinner in bed. We will see how these legs feel tomorrow. 

Souph

The south island was calling us so it was off to the airport. We said our goodbyes to the sunny and headed in. A giant gollum sculpture (thanks google!) greeted us. New Zealand really loves their LOTR's connection and it is evident everywhere. 

We were also greeted by a giant mural which featured this gem.

I think I will pass. We boarded the plan and bid farewell to the san fran of Oceania.

The south island is littered with mountains and with the plan flying rather low for the majority of the trip we had a good view.

The decent into Queenstown was quite horrible for me. The city is nestled in the mountains and the landing is a calculated run between peaks. The turbulence was overwhelming for this squeamish flyer.

Still alive having survived my panic attack I stepped onto the tarmac. I was greeted with some incredible views that calmed my tension a bit. 

We headed to omega to fetch our rental car. Meet the Tiida! It is apparently the newer version of the Sunny. Welcome back old friend. 

We drove into town and checked into the hostel. This was probably the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in. We had originally booked a room for three because the rooms for two were full. Seeing only two of us at his counter the owner only charged us for a double room. It was one of the many perks they offered. The room was super nice and we had a balcony to ourselves with a great view. So if you are in Queenstown, Adventure Queenstown is the place to stay. 

We noticed there were a few Mexican restaurants in town. Morbidly curious we decided to try what southern New Zealand Mexican food tasted like. I got the tacos and Peter got the Burrito. The humorous part about it was the menu explained all of the dishes in detail. Having grown up with so much Mexican influence in our culture it would have never occurred to me to describe on a menu what a taco is. 

The results were predictable. The salsa was much like marinara and the meat was bland and chewy. It was a good change from all of the Indian food we have been eating however. They also featured an interesting selection of hot sauces. 

How much can you take? After our late lunch we headed back to the hostel and inquired about a good hike in the area. The owner pointed us to one that would wrap up right around sunset. We headed up the mountain. 

It was a rather enjoyable trail and there were lots of neat things to see.

The views from the top weren't too shabby either. 

The pilots in the area must have really good eyes as to be able to see this from the sky.

As promised the sun set right as we made it down the trail again. With a few hours of hiking under our belt we headed back for the hostels Sunday roast beef dinner. I forgot to take pictures of the event but it was a decent meal at a decent price. We ended up talking to the hostel owner for quite a bit about sports and travel. It was good to learn that not all of the world hates us Americans.