Hello Queenstown
Yesterday we had a long travel day, driving back over the mountains from Hokitika to Christchurch and then flying from Christchurch to Queenstown. Unlike our trip over, the trip back was under a beautiful blue sky and we stopped multiple times to take photos. At one stop at a cafe we got to see a Kea, the world’s only alpine parrot. Marleen O’Leary, one of our delightful travel companions, got this video with a glimpse of the underwing.
The scenery was spectacular and we had multiple chances to get off the bus to take photos. At one point we had a short hike through a field of boulders.
Eventually we made it to the airport to deposit our bags and grab lunch ahead of a short flight to Queenstown. Remarkably, there was no security screening before boarding. We just got on our flight.
Boarding the plane that would take us from Christchurch to Queenstown.
Almost immediately after getting to the hotel, we went back out for a group dinner. The pub was crowded with people watching a rugby match between Australia and New Zealand. Service was a bit slow and so Robert and I had to skip dessert. Sarah, another fun traveling friend, was celebrating her birthday and we were accompanying her to a comedy show at 8. It was surprisingly fun and good.
There’s much more to say about Queenstown, but we are here for four nights and so that’ll be in another post.