Queenstown Day One

It was a very cool 28 degrees this morning with clear skies and sunshine. After a hearty breakfast I walked into town and up the hill to take the Skyline Gondola up Bob's Peak. The views of the town, the lake and the mountains were spectacular. The mountain range is appropriately named "The Remarkables". After spending some time taking in the surrounding beauty I came back down into town and did a little shopping and drank a large cup of delicious hot chocolate while waiting for our lake excursion to Walter's Peak High Country Farm. 

Took the gondola up the mountain to get a view of the town and surrounding area. The walk up offered some great photo opportunities. I went by a cemetery which is much like what we see at home.

The gondola station 

The views were spectacular.

Paragliding off the mountain was very popular. Maybe before I leave!

On the way back down actually saw some sheep grazing below one of the cliffs.

We boarded the vintage twin-screw steamer the "TSS Earnslaw" for a cruise on the lake. The steamer is one of the oldest tourist attractions in NZ and the only remaining commercial passenger carrying coal-fired steamship in the Southern Hemisphere. It was put into operation in 1912.

Shoveling coal into the boiler. A hard and hot job!

Lake Wakatipu is the longest NZ lake at 50 miles and is the 3rd largest lake overall. There were beautiful scenes along the shore and of the mountain range.

Walter Peaks 

Disembarking at Walter Peaks High Country Farm you could see that spring was beginning to come into full force with blooming flowers and trees. The farm is a working sheep station with over 60,000 acres and 3,000 head of sheep. They also raise Scottish Highland cattle.

They raise deer for the meat and the antlers.

There are two different types of sheep raised on the farm. Perendale are for meat and Merino for fine wool. 

They also raise Scottish Highland cattle for meat.

After a look at the animals we went to the house for a traditional English afternoon tea. The surrounding made for a wonderful relaxing time.

After tea I took a walk in the gardens to enjoy the beautiful spring flowers.

There was a shearing demonstration.

The steamship came to take us back to town. We had a sing along on board while traveling back.

After a short rest period we met for dinner. Here is a shot of the view from the dining room. There could be no better way to end a perfect day than by watching the sun set in the mountains.