It was a 7.5 hour bus drive, with some stops along the way, to Queenstown after our disembarking the Milford Mariner ship on the Milford Sound earlier in the day. I especially enjoyed the scenery of South Island where we drove along the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu and looked upon the mountain range, “The Remarkables”. They are snow-capped peaks, providing a final couple of days of skiing for the downhill-skiing enthusiasts. Queenstown, “adventure capital of the world”, attracts skiers, whitewater rafters and thrill seekers. Other activities: walking through gardens, bicycling through alpine forests, relaxing in hot pools, a 4-wheel drive up Skippers Canyon, zip-lining, jet-boating on the Dart River or bungee jumping, to mention a few activities.

I walked so many miles in this town. When I discovered I was out of town and walked various local roads to return to the lakeshore, I finally criss-crossed the Queenstown Trail; I walked that lovely trail back to town! At the lake’s shoreline, I saw some Great crested grebes, new birds for me, and spent time in the Queenstown Gardens and city center. Plenty of touristy shops in this town. I enjoyed lunch at an Irish pub, then walked out of town in the opposite direction. Finally, time to head back to our hotel which was an uphill hike.

Others in our group enjoyed a gondola ride, some were on the Dart River jet-boating in the fog and rain. Apparently, the Dart River people got a refund as the trip was not done to completion, yet they did get the jet-boat spins in! Cool!

One could not help but notice the amount of clear-cutting of trees in New Zealand. Trees are grown for a period of time, then logged and exported to China. New seedlings are planted and and process continues. The area near the gondola was clear-cut for obvious reasons, but I am unsure as to why a greater swath is being considered behind housing. I hope my information is wrong.

We had a couple of opportunities to walk through California redwood tree forests on North and South Islands. Why are the trees in New Zealand? The expectation was with the climate, rainfall and rich, volcanic soil in New Zealand, redwoods would enhance the landscape and provide timber. Unfortunately, the trees grow so fast their wood is pithy … as described by our NZ guide. Then the thought was to cut them all down. However, a good idea emerged to keep the redwoods and create recreational areas for hiking and mountain biking …. and tree walks and tree-canopy zip-lining! Great ideas!