Today we drove through "Lord of the Rings" country. Of course all NZ was probably used in one scene or another of the trilogy, but much of LOTR was filmed in the Lake Wakatipu area. Our first stop was at Arrowtown. Arrowtown was a gold mining settlement in the 1860s and it has been restored. It is a quaint little town full of shops and restaurants. We enjoyed our coffee break at the town bakery.Then we went to Queenstown which bills itself as the "adventure capit...

Today we visited Mt Aspiring National Park, which is the third largest of New Zealand's Parks. We stopped at the Park Visitor's Center and picked up the brochure, "Walks along the Haast Highway," which was very helpful as we drove the 140km section of Hwy 6. We drove beyond Lakes Wanaka and Hawea, through rainforests and along rivers. Our first nature walk was into the Makarora Bush, a primeval forest of silver beech and podocarp; it included a pitsaw dis...

We woke up very early because we didn't want to miss a minute on Doubtful Sound. After a great breakfast we went up to the top deck to watch for wildlife and more photo ops. We sailed for awhile and enjoyed the scenery. Then the Captain of the Navigator took us into a particularly beautiful cove surrounded by high mountains. We were told that we needed to find a comfortable spot because the Captain would treat us to "the sound of silence." He turned off the m...

We left Wanaka at 6:30 AM to drive the 290km to Manapouri; we had light rain much of the way. We drove past many wineries, a few ski areas, several large lakes, and fields filled with grazing sheep and deer. Then we went along a road through Kawarau Gorge where they have bungy jumping platforms. After Cromwell, we drove past Queenstown and along Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown is surrounded by mountains, including the Remarkables - what a great name for a mountain rang...

Last night we had a great dinner at the resort's restaurant, Rafters. Bob had lamb, which he really enjoyed. I believe we'll be enjoying lots of lamb while we are here. I had scallops and prawns, another great choice.Today we shopped for groceries and supplies, located an ATM in town, and stopped at the information center to pick up maps and postcards. We enjoyed a walk on the lake side. Our condo has all of the amenities -- a well equipped kitchen, a ...