Franz Josef to Queenstown

After last evening's dinner debacle, breakfast is much better.

We can see the Franz Josef glacier when departing the hotel. We are travelling on New Zealand State Highway 6.

Our first stop is to photograph the Fox glacier. The weather is being kind to us. We can also see Mount Cook.

We have a great view of the 'river' of the Fox Glacier.

Today is a day of s-curve roads climbing and descending mountains, one lane bridges crossing rivers emptying into the sea, incredible scenery, and foliage. 

We pass a recently discovered Māori cemetery.

Our next stop is at Knight's Point. It is primarily a stop for rest rooms but also affords an ocean view with seals frolicking in the water far below. It is reported that on a previous tour, a member captured a picture of an orca.

The next stop is at Ship Creek where Ship's creek enters the Pacific. In three separate years over a long period of years, parts of the same ship, the SS Schomberg washed up on the shore here. It turned out to be a ship purposely shipwrecked off the coast of Victoria in Australia and somehow the remains of the ship transited 1200 miles of the Tasman Sea and all three came to rest in the same location.

The bus is stopped for road construction. A huge amount of hill washed away. The road was closed for a long time. A slide caused a previous tour a significant detour. That tour arrived in Queenstown after midnight.

Lunch is at a curious hunter's restaurant called the Hard Antler. The food is reasonable. We are the only tour participants to stop at the bar first and order alcohol. CJ gets a good dark brew.

This is a very country redneck kind of place. 

Having spent many a year looking at various sections of the Alps, we find the mountains today the steepest we recall. In places they go up thousands of feet directly from the road. They are too steep in places to sustain growth.

There is a stop at Thunder Creek Falls.

We have a 30-minute stop in Wanaka. It is a charming small town with a nice lake and a group is vectored to a great gelato shop by our lead guide.

We pass through a good part of the Central Otago wine country. New Zealander's consider it the third best region in the world for Pinot Noir after Burgundy and Oregon. We remain in search of a good Pinot Noir from here. We like some of the Tasmanian Pinots better. The vines are well past harvest.

We have not seen the color change for autumn since leaving the US. Adelaide has a muted fall. Here there is color.

After a long yet interesting and enjoyable bus ride, we finally arrive in Queenstown. Traffic is horrible in the narrow streets. Our hotel is near the lake. 

We discover it is less than two blocks to our restaurant selection: Blue Kanu. I is a Polynesian restaurant. The food is good, the cocktails even better!