Australia and New Zealand
Mike and Judy Henderson
March 21 to April 9, 2019
I'm going to leave the map on each page of this blog so you can see where we are.
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3/28/2019 (Thursday) This morning we go to Skyline Queenstown, which is a cable car up Bob's Peak. It's a very steep mountain. Here's a view of the cable car system from the top.
The trip up gave us a nice view of the area.
When we reached the top there was a viewing platform, giving us a view of the whole area.
Note the paraglider in the picture. They offered tandem rides down to the base of the mountain.
Here we are at the top of the mountain.
A couple of pictures of other guests on the trip. Here's Ann and Sam.
And Marliese and Glen.
In addition to the paraglide they also have a luge track (but it doesn't go all the way down the mountain). It's a dry track, not ice.
Mountain biking is a big attraction. People take their mountain bikes up to the top of the mountain and ride narrow switchback trails all the way down.
When we left Skyline we drove to Arrowtown, a quaint little place that had once been a center of gold mining. Here's Judy by the river where miners panned for gold.
Next to the bus parking location was the most amazing high tech public toilet installation.
Here's what it looks like from the parking lot. Looks fairly ordinary, doesn't it?
But the other side is all high tech. It's called an ExcelLoo. Press the blue-lighted button and the entry door slides open. A voice announces that if you have not pressed the exit button in 10 minutes, the door will open automatically. Proceed with your mission. Then place your hands under the water spout for washing, and that will trigger the toilet to flush. Then move your hands a few inches to the right to trigger the air flow to air-dry your hands. Then press the blue button to exit. So automatic!
After that bit of adventure we walked the streets and had a cup of coffee at Arrowtown Bakery and Cafe, where we ran into Liz and Tony.
From Arrowtown, we drove to the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, the location of the first commercial bungee jumping operation. The first bungee jump was done on April 1, 1979 in Bristol, UK, off the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
A.J Hackett made his first bungee jump in 1986 and realized the potential for a commercial operation. In November, 1988, he set up operation at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, and it continues today. It is 141 feet from the bridge to the river. Here's a picture of the bridge and the river.
A close-up of the jumping station.
We were able to witness a jump. In this picture, the jumper has just left the platform.
Falling,
And just about at the bottom of the fall.
After this, he bounced upward and swung back and forth. When the swinging settled down, a boat came under the bridge and he was lowered to the boat. No one in our group tried a jump.
We returned to Queenstown, where we had lunch on our own, and then Judy and I took a walk around the peninsula.
We made it back to the water taxi dock just in time to catch the departing taxi that took us to the Hilton Hotel. Here's what they look like.
We had dinner in the hotel and then went to bed in preparation for another early morning.
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3/29/2019 (Friday - Vietnam Veterans' Day in the US) We leave for Dunedin today to board the Le Laperouse. It was quite dark when we departed the hotel. We boarded buses based on the tour we chose for the day, and ours was going to the Otago peninsula.
The road followed the Kawarau River for a while and then the Clutha River. When we got to Dunedin we could see the Le Laperouse in the distance, but we were not going to board her yet.
We stopped at the Railway station to use the restrooms. I didn't get a good picture of the station, but this Courts building across the square is in the same style.
We then continued to the Otago peninsula to visit the Nature's Wonders Nature Reserve, a private reserve.
The drive out to the peninsula was quite scenic.
When we arrived at the preserve, half of the guests took the argos, and the other half took a standard bus. People are wearing jackets provided by the facility because the ride on the argos can be dusty.
They took us out to where the New Zealand fur seals were sunning themselves.
A closer view
And an even closer look
Here's a mother nursing her calf.
Ken and Gail at the seal site.
There was a shelter that allowed us to get near some of the pups.
A close view of a couple of pups.
Next, we went to a shelter to see if we could see some penguins. The guide said he could see one, but neither Judy or I could see it in the shrub brush.
Then we went back to the main building and had lunch.
After lunch, we drove back to Dunedin and to the ship - the Le Lapérouse, a Ponant ship. It is named after a French explorer, Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse.
The captain was there to welcome us aboard.
Our cabin is fairly small, but comfortable. Here it is as we arrived - the crew had put our luggage into the room for us.
We only had a few minutes in the cabin before we were called to a meeting in the theatre, where the captain spoke to us.
The weather on the west side of New Zealand was bad, with high seas, so our itinerary was being changed and we would sail on the east side of New Zealand. The two pictures below show the changes.
We were supposed to leave Dunedin this afternoon but will spend the night here and depart tomorrow afternoon. On the good side, we will get to visit Christchurch, but we'll miss Milford Sound and the fiords.
And then it was time for the safety drill. They were very conscientious and checked each of us against the manifest to make sure that everyone participated in the drill.
Judy and me in floatwear.
We had dinner with friends that evening and then off to bed.
