11-19-16

 We made it to the west side of the island & it's WET over here!

We woke up on 11/12 with the plan to take a helicopter ride to the top of Franz Joseph Glacier. It included a guided hike through some glacier ice tunnels.

We were excited about the heli-tour but due to low clouds the adventure was canceled. :-( 

Instead Bob & I did a rainforest trek to see the bottom of the glacier.

We saw a pretty little lake along the way.

And then we got a glimpse of Franz Joseph Glacier. You can see the sun lighting up the unique powder blue ice in the distance!

This is the closest we could get before the safety barriers stopped us. It was pretty cool to see the glacier from this angle (maybe next time we'll get to the top).

Glacier Selfie.

Moss abounds when it rains a lot.

So do waterfalls!

Happy Rain Forest = 50 Shades of Green. ;-)

This is a Silver Fern...

It's the signature New Zealand plant seen in gift shops on t-shirts, art work & souvenir knick-knacks. 

Here's an example of how well those ferns grow around there.

Reminds me so much of Arizona (NOT)!

But this cow did remind me of Iowa!

Tomorrow we'll be on the MOO-ve again. Leaving Franz Joseph to drive up the coast a bit & then head East over Arthur's Pass.

11-18-16

So we rented 2 bikes at Lake Wanaka AND bought these 2 bike jerseys for souvenirs! Love 'em!

Off we went to sight see on our bikes...

It was impossible not to stop & smell the roses (lupins).

On one side of the trail was Lake Wanaka & on the other side were vineyards.

We took the trail leading up to a winery on a hill.

A view from Rippon Winery. I took a million photos of this!

Sat right here & enjoyed a glass of wine with a meat & cheese plate. So nice!

I love poppies & taking flower pics. WOW!

Back on the bikes for more touring.

We had a fantastic afternoon at Lake Wanaka & we were on a high from our 2 previous days in Queenstown. But then our luck ran out... :-(    When we returned to our car in downtown Wanaka we discovered our car window was broken. We had been robbed while biking. Argh... shocked & angry! We went to the police & they were shocked too. New Zealand is a very safe country & they rarely hear of crime. But it happened to us; my purse, Bob's backpack, some bags of souvenirs & another bag of mine were all taken. My license & credit cards were in my stolen purse but thankfully Bob had both of our passports.

This put a HUGE dark cloud over our day & our feelings. We were delayed a couple hours in town & then had to drive through hard rain several more hours to get to our night's destination at Frans Joseph hotel. The break-in was terrible & I was sad for the items that I can't replace. Despite the downer...I still like my new bike jersey! 

11-17-16

November 11: Today was a driving day to the west side of the island.

Good-bye to Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu & The Remarkables.

Hello gorgeous green pastures.

Happy sheep munching away.

More little lambs...LOVE them!

Stopped at historic Cardrona Hotel for breakfast.

This is the charming courtyard. Didn't get any pics inside the hotel but it was beautiful with wood floors, refinished bar, stone fireplace, & cute cafe.

Arrived at Lake Wanaka... B E A U T I F U L! We parked at the beach & took in the PEACE.

Then we rented bikes to take a cruise along the lakeside trail. Colorful lupins lined the path & their fragrance was divine!! Sniff... Awwww. :-)

More pics from our sweet bike ride in next post.

11-16-16

Now...back to New Zealand Harley!

Bell has the exact coloring as Harley but doesn't have the spots on her legs like our girl. 

Bell sure made us miss Harley! She laid on the ground the same, lifted her legs to get her belly rubbed the same & was so sweet like Harley.

If I didn't know I would say this is a photo of me with Harley.

Can you tell I didn't want to leave this doggie?

It felt like we were hugging Harley!

11-15-16

Bob & I started our day (11/10) taking a FAST boat ride on the famous Shotover jet boat. We had front row seats & tightly clung the handlebar for this crazy tour. Speeding up & down the Shotover River close to the cliffs while spinning donuts was fun!

We took another boat ride later in the day but this one was much more relaxing!

This is the TSS Earnslaw...a vintage steamship from 1912.

Or was it The Titanic?

We got on the boat in Queenstown & took it across Lake Wakatipu for an evening cruise & dinner at Walter Peak.

The steam ship still operates by shoveling coal into the fire oven to power the boat. Fascinating to see the process up close.

On the other side of the lake was Walter Farm...it's a beautiful property with a large ranch house, barns & sheep grazing all over Walter Peak mountain area. Walter Farm has been a working sheep farm (by the Mackenzie family) since the late 1880's. Today the farm owners partner with the steamship to bring guests over & treat them to an amazing dinner & show.

We were so impressed with the green grass & manicured landscaping. The buffet dinner was huge & delicious. Such a neat setting to sit inside the ranch house with views of the grounds & lake.

After dinner we were treated to a sheep herding show. It was impressive to see the farmer instruct his 2 herding dogs to get the sheep high on the mountain & bring them into the corral.

Good doggies!

I fell in love with Bell...the herding dog who looked just like our Harley! I will post more photos of Bell tomorrow (she was special)! :-)

We were also shown how to a sheer a sheep.

The farmer was done in no time & the wool came off in 1 full piece! 

I've never seen a sheep sheered & was surprised to learn if you put a sheep on it's butt it will be compliant while you sheer.

This whole evening was fantastic! We highly recommend the TSS Earnslaw Steamship with Walter Farm experience!