Trip of a Lifetime – Te Anau (7)

October 30, 2015 alanham Leave a comment

*A year later….* #worstbloggerever

September 2014

We left Queenstown and drove about 2 hours southwest to a small town called Te Anau. Along the way we stopped at Five River Cafe for lunch. The cafe was a refurbished gas stationed turned into cafe and small farm. We had a delicious lunch, enjoyed the rustic decor (wayne’s coating made from scrap metal) and took some photos of the farm animals (including a miniature horse, sheep, pig).

We arrived at Te Anau – a sweet little town situated on a beautiful lake that leads into the fiordlands. Unfortunately the hotel I had booked looked more like the Bates motel than the “luxmore” I had expected. Quickly, we re-booked with one of their sister hotels that faced the lake. Once settled, we ventured to a bird sanctuary where we had hopes to see a Kea – an incredibly intelligent large parrot type bird.

Up until this point, we have see an incredible number of lambs and sheep – however, never getting close enough to touch one (yes, we absolutely had tried). The lambs are so cute – we just wanted to hold one. As we arrived at the bird sanctuary, an adorable older man in overalls with a sheep dog was walking out. I said hello and one thing led to another … ending with us hopping in his truck to go to his farm down the road to see two lambs born the day before. Mom apparently lost all memory of how every dateline story starts when we agreed to go with him – she was coax in with the possibility of seeing a little lamb…like giving candy to a baby. Completely shocked that my Mom agreed for this man to take us away IN HIS CAR and with my stranger-danger radar on, I texted Johnny our location in case we went missing.

Syd and his partner, Heather, were lovely and graciously hosted us for tea with quality time with their lambs. Syd has owned his farm for 50 years and proudly had over 20,000 sheep! Quite the operation! Sadly the two lambs we were spending time with were abandoned by their mother; so Syd was hand raising them for his grandchildren. Gah, they were so cute.

Heather & Syd's view from their home — Heather & Syd’s view from their home

On our way back to the bird sanctuary, Syd decided to stop us by his neighbors house to visit with her animals – there we met a rooster, fancy chickens, a calf and her lamb, Milly. Milly was a sweet little cuddle-bug and was so domesticated that she even lived in the lady’s house.

Syd dropped us back off at the bird sanctuary and we carried on our way! It was really great to spend time with Syd and Heather. Although I had been concerned about our safety, I’m glad we took a risk and went to his lovely home. AND so glad to have held (and feed!) a baby lamb!

At the bird sanctuary, we saw parrots, Kaka bird, Kea, and a Ruru owl.

Lake Te Anau - walking back from bird sanctuary — Lake Te Anau – walking back from bird sanctuary

Back at the hotel, we decided to get take-away Chinese per Syd’s suggestion.

Breakfast: Granola bar & tea
Five River Cafe: Mom – Mushroom Soup; Alli – Quiche with salad
Dinner: Ming garden Chinese take-away

Trip of a Lifetime – Glenorchy (6)

March 26, 2015 alanham 1 Comment

September 2014

The reason we came back to Queenstown was to go to Glenorchy. Which seems strange since this town has exactly 2 traffic lights – but it was the 1 hour drive that was described as one of the best drives in New Zealand had me hooked! And it did not disappoint:

Glenorchy - Lake Wakatipu — Glenorchy – Lake Wakatipu

Once we made it to Glenorchy, we ate lunch at a sweet cafe each having the sweet corn, spinach and bacon (minus the bacon for Alli) soup with bread. We also took some great photos near the river. For those LOTR fans, Glenorchy is where they shot parts of Lothlorien, Caradhras (Mt Earnslaw), Dart River and Paradise (Isengard and Amon Hen) among other things.

When planning the trip, all I had intended on doing was driving to Glenorchy, enjoying the town and driving home… THEN, I saw that they do a Lord of the Rings HORSEBACK RIDING TOUR! Now, having only lived in New Zealand for a short time, I can say that I love all the LOTR connections. Maybe after a time it will wear off, but for now it is still really cool to see where they filmed.

Please note before I go any further (some of you may know) my Mom and I have a reasonable fear of horses and certainly not comfortable riders. Naturally, the instructors hooked us up with two less than friendly horses. I love animals and I don’t generally categorize them as mean – but the horse I was riding had a mean spirit. (Potentially from being ridden by inexperienced riders every day…) Dreamer was put at the back of the lot of horses b/c of his inability to make friends with the other horses. Mom’s horse, Vinny, was much better but certainly had his limits. Right around the time we started learning to gallop (terrible idea), Dreamer was done with the entire thing and wanted to end this experience at which point he bit Vinny’s butt (and kicked the horse who unfortunately ended up being behind us). Then Vinny would kick back. Then Dreamer reared up. Then Alli didn’t want to ride a horse. Ever. Again.

At least we didn’t fall off the horse like another lady on the trip. These horses might start a revolution soon.

Despite the transportation, we did see some beautiful things and heard about our guide’s adventure around the world. Lindsay from Great Britain with an amazing cockney accent is mid-way through a 4yr + adventure traveling and working around the world. Literally. She travels to each new city with one bag then works for about 6 months. So impressive!

That evening we ate an early dinner in Queenstown at Eichardts – a quaint, intimate cocktail bar on the river. We enjoyed some delicious drinks (red wine & sweet dessert wine) and ate 3 different tapas plates. After dinner, we were pretty spent so we stayed in and watched Houdini the movie.

Breakfast: Buffet at Hilton – lovely view of the river, very odd selection of items
Lunch at Glenorchy Cafe: Sweet corn, spinach, bacon soup with bread
Dinner at Eichardts: Small tapas of lamb, cheese, saffron tomato gnocchi

Trip of a Lifetime – Queenstown (5)

March 16, 2015 alanham 1 Comment

September 2014

Before leaving for Queenstown on Wednesday morning, we decided to walk around Wanaka’s town center and eat “breakfast” at Federal Diner. We had a big breakfast including cheese scones, a pot pie (yes, Mom at a beef pot pie at 9.30am), and I had a roasted vegetable salad (yes, I had a roasted vegatable salad at 9:30am). With our belly’s full, we drove to Queenstown. The drive was only an hour – which was good because we had been doing a lot of driving so far on this trip! In our daily notes about the day, we wrote: “The ride to Queenstown was windy, narrow (no guard rails), pretty (scary), and breathtakingly beautiful.”

Breakfast in Wanaka…

Federal Diner - Wanaka — Federal Diner – Wanaka

Drive to Queenstown…

Queenstown was a really interesting city – it had a vibe like a Colorado ski resort city minus the hippies, plus a beach. Well, a little bit hippy. We stopped to listen to an amazing street performing singing sings woman wrote in the 1800s. We both bought her CD. We also ate chocolate in the city.

Breakfast: Cheese scones, Earl Grey Manuka Tea + Mom – Beef pot pie + Alli – Wisdom salad with roasted kumara
Lunch: we didn’t lunch after that breakfast
Dinner at Hilton, Wild Earth: Alli- salmon with bread and asparagus + Mom – Lamb chops
Dessert & Drinks (outside near the fire pit): Carrot sorbet with carrot cake

Another lovely day with my Mom.

Queenstown - Lake Wakatipu — View from Queenstown – Lake Wakatipu

Forbes - along the poem on the rocks — Forbes – along the poem on the rocks

Trip of a Lifetime – Wanaka & Rob Roy Glacier Track (4)

March 15, 2015 alanham 1 Comment

September 2014

On Monday, we checked out of Aoraki Mt. Cook Alpine Lodge and drove 2 1/2 hours to Wanaka. Before checking into our hotel, we decided to do a hike. Thc Minaret Burns/Colquohouns Beach Track was suppose to be an easy 90-100min (round trip) walk around a beach with lovely beach views along the way. There was lovely views, but after 60 mins into the walk, we realized that we were (1) no where near the end of the hike and (2) already had a 60 min walk back to where we started. So, we decided to turn around early for us to have time to go to a winery before dinner.

I enjoyed a complimentary tasting at Rippon Winery – a truly stunning venue with picturesque views on of the vines and Lake Wanaka. We then checked into our hotel and headed to Relishes Cafe for dinner.

Breakfast: Cereal at hotel
Lunch: Hummus, tomato & cheese sandwich
Dinner: Alli – Potato Leak Soup + Mom – lamb cutlets with beetroot gnocchi
Dessert: Caramel, chocolate peanut butter souffle

Driving photos…

Thc Minaret Burns/Colquohouns Beach Track…

Ribbon Vineyard…

On Tuesday, we did the hike that I was MOST excited about – THE Rob Roy Glacier Track. This is a pretty epic hike so we went to the local DOC (Department of Conservation) to make sure the conditions were ok to hike (it had gotten a bit warmer and there were concerns about an avalanche). All checked out OK and we were on our way!

To get there, we drove 32 km on a washboard gravel round passing farmland, cows grazing, herds of red deer and reindeer, and passed through 8 fords. We even drove alongside a flock of at least 300 sheep. More accurately – we were driving along until we came across this pack, at which point they started running in what can only be described as absolute panic. Chaos insued among the gang as we casually strolled next to them. Although there was plenty of grass to the right of the car, the vast majority frantically ran in front of the car for about a mile – slowly realizing they could turn off to the right allowing us to pass.

I mean, how can you not enjoy sheep running.

ANYWAY! Once we arrived, we started our adventure on this 12km, 4 hour hike! It was a very busy hike and quite warm (much different than our Mt. Cook hike on the Hooker Valley Track!). The hike was difficult as we passed through pastures, forests, over streams and waterfalls, and up steep cliffs. The path, at times, narrowed to just one person at a time and very precarious. We did see an avalanche; however, it was very far from us. This was an exhausting but really good day. After the hike, we drove into town for dinner at Francessca’s and was served by an adorable American waitress. A couple of wines later, we recommended that she befriend [and ideally date] the cute British DOC ranger who gave us the tips about the hike earlier that day. A very good day :)

Breakfast: Granola bars & tea at Edgewater Hotel
Lunch: Typical hiking lunch – hummus, tomato & cheese sandwich
Dinner: Appetizer: Polenta fries + Alli: Prawns & Spaghetti + Mom: Cauliflower Risotta
Dessert: Salted Caramel ice-cream (holy yum)

Rob Roy Glacier Hike! Cow field before entrance

More sheep photos…

Trip of a Lifetime – Mt Cook (3)

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 alanham 2 Comments

September 2014

We arrived in Queenstown on Saturday, hopped in a rental car and started a big drive North to Mt. Cook. Along the way we stopped in Arrowtown [for LOTR fans, this is where “The Ford of Bruinen” and “The Gladden Fields” are filmed]. This is a cute “gold-mining” town with sweet places to eat and touristy shops. We had a yummy lunch outside and walked around for a bit.

It was a beautiful drive to Mt Cook – we saw another bungee jumper off a bridge, passed wineries, & saw glacier blue lakes. We didn’t arrive to Mt Cook until dark – and it was rainy & cold.

Breakfast: Airport muffin
Lunch: Vegetable Stack [AL] & Cranberry, brie + chicken sandwich [BA]
Dinner: Old Mountaineer Cafe & Bar – Salmon pizza & wine

At dinner, the owner [strangely] asked us where we were on 9/11. We explained that we lived in New Jersey, etc. and she brought us over a book she had co-authored of letters written by New Zealanders encouraging Americans in the wake of 9/11. Very nice gesture. As we walked back to our hotel, the rain turned into snow! brrrrr.

The Lord of the Rings reference here is that we stayed in a hotel where “Minas Tirith” would be if it existed.

Sheep - South Island — Sheep – South Island

On Sunday, we woke up bright & early to venture onto the Hooker Valley Track to see Mount Cook! The entire track was 10km with moderate difficulty. During this track, we saw 5 avalanches, trotted over 3 swinging foot bridges and say one glacier! At the base of the mountain, where we had lunch, was incredibly cold and windy. Amazing views

Then, we we hiked up Glacier Valley Point to see a retreating glacier and blue lake, which is now green. It was a bit devastating to see this massive glacier disappearing.

Breakfast: cereal in hotel
Lunch: Alli & Johnny’s staple hiking lunch – home-made hummus & tomato sandwiches with cookies
Dinner: Old Mountaineer Cafe & Bar – Potatoe Leek Soup & wine