Queenstown to Te Anau

Because Bob and I were in Queenstown, we figured we'd better do something to get the adrenaline pumping through our bodies.  Jet-boating, paragliding, hiking, or skydiving???  All were considered, but we decided to just be kids.  So, on Thursday, March 23, 2017, we decided to take the Skyline Gondola up to Bob's peak and ride the luge!  Finding a parking place made me smile.  Next to the gondola is the Queenstown cemetery.  Atop Bob's peak there are fabulous views of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu.

 

Bob and I really have "Bean Around the World".  We have been very greatly blessed and I am reminded of it constantly!  We had fun watching families and individuals take off from Bob's Peak on para-sails, and drift around the lake and mountains for what seemed hours.  The wind conditions must have been perfect!

We really were like kids on the luge.  The first couple of rides gave us confidence to start seeing how high we could ride the banks at the curves and how high we could fly off our seats over the bumps.  As we were racing each other the third or fourth time, dad totally wiped out on a curve and I just sped past laughing until I crashed into the next bank!  I guess we are not invincible teenagers despite what we may think!

 

We returned to town and found a large crowd gathered along the street, so we decided to investigate the cause.  Everyone was in  line to buy a burger from Fergburger - rated by CNN to be the best burger in the world.  Well . . . if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  I don't know if we were just hungry, but that was a mighty good burger and fries!

It was time to say good-bye to Queenstown and drive the 2.5 hours to Te Anau.  The scenery continued to dazzle us all along the way.

The cute little town of Te Anau is the closest town to Milford Sound, and is considered the best place for trekking in New Zealand.  Our goal was to be as close as possible to Milford Sound so that we could get out the door early the next morning, drive the 2-hours with time to stop and enjoy the scenic outlooks before boarding a morning boat cruise on the fjord.  Following our cruise, we wanted to do the 3-hour Key Summit Hike before returning to Te Anau for another night.

Those pineapple lumps were a New Zealand candy made for me!  Yummy!