The final destination on our south island tour was Queenstown. I love this little spot on the water, below the mountains. Interestingly, it was Jo and Mary's least favorite place! Queenstown is more crowded than the other towns we visited and so it took a bit to adjust after a week of being on quieter tracks and trails.
Now, I talked and talked to Jo and Mary about a hike up the Ben Lomond track, but when push came to shove we went for the gentler walk up Queenstown Hill (which still requires medium to high fitness). At the summit, I encouraged Jo and Mary to do fun poses to mimic the ones that I see exchange students in all the time (you know, the kind where the whole group of friends has jumped and the photo is a snap shot of everyone mid-air). Well, these kind of photos are best left to the under 25 crowd because us older folks just look downright special when we're on top of a hill hopping around.
Here is the least cringe worthy jump shot (seriously):
And, here's where I'm looking a little more foolish:
We decided a cruise on Doubtful Sound would be a great rest day activity (we had done some serious walking everyday for a week by this point). The weather was typical for Fiordland: rainy. But, we still had a lovely time puttering around on the water (twice, in each direction).
First boat ride across Manapouri:
I hoped to see dolphins on the cruise, but they were hiding. Hmph.
Our last big adventure was a loop track with a view of Lake Rere and the surrounding Greenstone track.
It was a shame we didn't get to spend more time in Fiordland, but I think Jo and Mary got a good taste of New Zealand's changing landscapes. My next American visitor arrives next month and I'll take this opportunity to see what else New Zealand has on offer: river rafting, luge rides, flying foxes, etc. (I deliberately left out skydiving and bungy jumping!).
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