We have really enjoyed our little cottage in the vineyard but this morning it was time to head on again. I took a last photo of the little cottage with the blossom tree blooming beside it.
Our road led us back towards Queenstown but just after the airport we took a left turn and followed the road down along the lower edge of Lake Wakatipu.
At the bottom of the lake is the tiny town of Kingston. It’s claim to fame is that it’s the home of the Kingston Flyer. Originally, Kingston Flyer was a passenger express train between Kingston, Gore, Invercargill, and less frequently, Dunedin. It was operated by the New Zealand Railways (NZR) from the 1890s to 1957. In 1971, NZR revitalised the service as a tourist venture and the vintage steam train is popular in the summer months. It’s season hasn’t started yet but I’d hoped we might see it at it’s home in Kingston – we did see a grand old steam engine in the big shed near the cute Kingston station, but it looked a bit raggedy, so I’m not sure if it is the one they use for the tourist trips.
About 30 minutes drive beyond Kingston we stopped in at “the Hunny Shop” at Garston, another tiny town. The owners are local beekeepers that produce Manuka, Clover and Thyme honeys and other bee related products. I’ve recently started to enjoy honey again so we stopped in to taste all the flavours, I really liked the creamy clover honey so bought a jar to take home.
The road continued south and led through very sparse alpine country. At one point we drove through a large landscape covered in reddish gold tussock grass that is within the Red Tussock Conservation Area This area is renowned for its grasslands, which are integral to the local ecosystem. These grasslands provide essential services such as water filtration and soil protection. They also serve as a habitat for native species like the takahe, a flightless bird that relies on red tussock for food and shelter. It coloured the hills red for miles around.
The sky had been bright when we left Queenstown but the further south we drove the clouds grew more and more gloomy. When we finally arrived in Te Anau it had started to drizzle so we dropped in to visist the Fiordland National Park Visitor Center. We’d been there about five minutes when the young woman from the desk apologetically told us that they were closing for their lunch and we’d have to leave! It really is the slow season here! We drove into the town and had a tasty lunch at a cafe to fill in time before we could checking in to our hotel, the Fiordland Lakeview Motel & Apartments.
After lunch we did a little grocery shopping in the town and then headed up the hill to the Lions Club Lookout. The wind up there was gale force! I could barely keep the phone still to take a photos.
We cheked in and threw a couple of loads of washing into the washing machine that we have in our apartment. It’s so nice to have some space here to spread out and we have a wonderful view over the lake.
Luckily the rain stopped and the sun came out for a while which gave us a chance to go for a stroll up the lakefront. However the rain started again JUST as we got back to the motel so we relaxed for a while before deciding what to do for dinner. There are several restaurants within a 10 minute walk but tonight we decided to head to the nearest one, Jimmy Cook’s Kiwi Kitchen, and it was a good choice! We went early as we didn’t have a reservation, but we needn’t have worried, the place was empty and the host was very happy to greet us and to show us to the best window table.
We had such a nice meal! We shared Ciabatta with herb butter and Ginger & Garlic Wontons for entree. For our main we both chose the Venison Ragout, that is made using the locally sourced deer. On the way here we had passed through Mossburn, which is the deer capital of New Zealand! The first deer farm in New Zealand was started here back in 1972. Naturally, this is something that the locals are very proud of and our waiter told us their venison ragout was their signature dish. It was delicious!
Tomorrow is the first of two big days – we need to be at Manapouri dock by 9.40am for our guided tour to Doubtful Sound. The weather isn’t looking great but I have read several reporst that say seeing the sounds in wet weather is a unique experience.. we will see!