In order to get from Christchurch to Blenheim airport we had to travel via Wellington, which seemed a bit weird, but none the less it was fun as we got to travel on a scheduled flight that lasted 20 minutes which was a novelty. We had arranged to be picked up from our hotel at 10am for an all day wine tour. Our first stop was at Cloudy Bay where we were served a very generous pouring of 2 of their sparkling wines, including a 2005 vintage, 2 whites, a red and a d...

We left Queenstown early and touched down in Christchurch for our whirlwind visit by 0930. We dropped our bags at the hotel then headed to the city centre to explore. Although we were very much aware of the destruction from the earthquakes, it was really saddening to see the destruction that was caused. At the same time though uplifting to see how their positive attitude was helping them move on fast. The city has lots of construction going on and has a beautiful...

Tuesday started fairly lazily so after our morning run along the lake we headed for brunch. Unfortunately not a Dubai brunch! It was very good though, we shared a chicken, bacon and waffle combo and a Ruben sandwich. Our plan for the day had been to follow the Queenstown trail Northwards to the next town called Frankton. This took us along the edge of the lake and gave us more stunning views and also a look at some of the lovely houses that sit on the waters edge...

After a morning jog along the lake front we headed to the local hype Fergburger where people queue forever to get a burger, we had decided we wanted to try one but didn't want to queue too long so grabbed one for breakfast when the queue was not too long. Turns out the Burgers were delicious and we were pleased with succumbing to the hype, also that having a burger for breakfast was pretty good!Today we had pre booked a wine tasting tour that started with us ...

We had bagged some decent economy seats on the Qantas flight down to Queenstown so the 2 1/2 hours passed quite quickly. Helped by another breakfast and a beer!A hotel upgrade on arrival meant we had a spectacular view of the lake and surrounding mountains. We headed out for a wander around the main town area and grabbed a couple of beers followed by a Mexican for dinner. Sunday morning we headed up the Gondola for some more spectacular views of the surrounding a...