On our way back: Arrowtown and Omarama

Heading out from Te Anau was the turning point in our trip, we were headed back; headed back toward Christchurch and our return to Singapore. On the way we made a few stops.

One stop was at this picnic area off the side of the road. It was beautiful. Look how clear the water is. We had a gorgeous day to enjoy being out by the lake.

"Snack"

The we headed to a cute town just 20 minutes outside of Queenstown called Arrowtown. We had a a nice lunch and then walked around the town. We bought some fudge (because it was just that type of town that would sell fudge) and then headed to... all together now... the playground.

Back on the road. Our stop for the night: Omarama where we checked into our hotel and found

...the playground.

I had an image of what these pictures would look like with the bright colors etc. but they just didn't turn out right. There are some cute girls though..

You can see the difference in scenery from the West coast to the east side of NZ. Still beautiful.

After the playground we walked through the town (it took maybe 10 minutes) and ate at the Wrinkled Rams. On the return trip to our hotel we were able to so so many stars. It was so beautiful.

Although Omarama is not one of the top spots to see in NZ (except if you are a glider apparently), it was a great place to break up our drive. Next stop: Christchurch.

Te Anau and Milford Sound

We drove the 2 hours from Queenstown to Te Anua to find a beautiful day, venison pie, ducks, and you guessed it... a playground!

After the playground we found our hotel (rental house) and tried to get inside. There was a bit of a problem through. The owner forgot to leave us a key. Unfortunately our phones were dead so we had a bit of a dilemma. How do we get a hold of the owner? We were in a little neighborhood so there wasn't a store to go into and borrow their phone so I summoned up the courage to knock on a door and use the phone. The very nice people let us use the phone and about 5 minutes later the owner came by apologizing for her forgetfulness.

Once settled (with some laundry done) we headed to the Fat Duck for some dinner followed by a good nights sleep.  The following morning we were off to see the fiords in Milford Sound.

I can't remember if these pictures are from the drive to Te Anau or Milford sound. I guess it doesn't really matter.. they are just beautiful!

We were on the early side for our scheduled boat tour, so we stopped at the Chasm. A five minute walk and we saw this:

Once we got to Milford Sound, we found our boat and boarded. On the boat we had lunch, and got to see some beautiful views (part way through it rained and was foggy, but what we did see was great.)

Smile:

I took this picture to show Elyse's great imagination. She was having her straw and a popsicle stick talk to each other and was having a great time- who needs an iPad?

On the way back from Milford Sound we stopped at Mirror Lakes. In the pictures you can see how it got it's name.

You can't tell in the pictures, but at this time I was not feeling good. We got back in the car and I proceeded to throw up a couple of times- not fun. I thought it was car sickness, but it did not go away for the rest of the afternoon. I think I ate something bad on the boat's buffet :( 

I was in bed not moving while Toby went out and got groceries (with home-girl Anastasia and Elyse) and got dinner ready. (Thanks Toby)

I was thinking of all the worst case scenarios. At one point there was no way I could get in the car, so I was thinking we would have to stay an extra day in Te Anau and then have to drive 7 or 8 hours to Christchurch after that instead of breaking it up. Luckily I was feeling better when I woke up and we didn't have to alter our plans. All I've got to say is don't get the buffet on the Milford Sounds cruise.

Queenstown

We decided to spend 2 nights in Queenstown. Queenstown was a cute small town with beautiful views.

Here the girls are all buddled up to enjoy the view from our balcony.

Hanging out in the closet.

Time for a puzzle:

On our full day in Queenstown we decided to go up the mountain on the gondola and then ride on the luge. Anastasia was a bit apprehensive about the gondola, but we made it up to the top without incident.

Sheep everywhere

Elyse had been talking about the luge since we arrived in Queenstown and was so excited to go down it until we actually got to it. As we were walking down to the chairlift she decided she was scared and didn't want to go on it. I was totally confused especially since she had done the luge a few time in Singapore. We tried to sway her, but she did not change her mind. As a result Anastasia got to go on it twice. Although she doesn't look happy in these pictures, she really did have fun and kept calling the luge a slide. I think she would have done it over and over again.

Elyse waiting

"hat"

 I wish someone told me my helmet was on crooked.

I wanted to get a picture of the girls and said "act like you like each other" and this is what I got:

This is the view from the top of the mountain. A beautiful view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and The Remarkables (the mountain range).

After the gondola we headed into town to catch a ride on the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw.

We had beautiful views as we crossed the lake.

I love these pictures of Anastasia:

Our day ended at a great restaurant and a trip to the playground :)

We woke up to this:

and were on our way to Te Anau a couple hours away.