I'm off on holiday again tomorrow and have an early bus to catch so I'm pulling an all nighter. Because of that I thought I'd take the chance while I'm still at work and doing a bit of unpaid admin, I'd procrastinate a bit by posting pictures.
So here's a quick run down and pictures from when I was down south in June.
I took the bus from Dunedin to Queenstown to meet up with my parents and the first thing we did when I arrived was go to Ferg Burger. Their burgers are AMAZING. There's a lot of hype around them and they totally live up to it - every single mouthful. Here I am eating a venison burger. Mmm. Equally great is Ferg Baker - the best pies I've ever had. I had to buy about 4 to sample all the flavours...
The next morning started with a walk around the Bannockburn countryside, up past where they used to mine gold and past many, many, many rabbits. Despite it being quite foggy I thought the colours were gorgeous - purples, reds and browns...
The walk took us past old miner's cottages - the remains of them anyway. Here I am doing the Che at Machu Picchu pose in a door frame.
Of course we took a wrong turn (my sense of direction failed me) and so we walked the long way around to Bannockburn instead of back to the car park. Some of the old buildings are really sweet.
While Dad walked a few extra ks back to get the car, Mum and I had morning tea in a cute cafe. I had to try a local delicacy - the classic cheese and onion roll. Mmm.
All that walking built up more of an appetite than just for food, after all we were smack in the middle of Central Otago wine country. Pinot, anyone? I should have invoiced my work for visiting one of the wineries that we use. Of course it's not exactly a chore tasting all of these...
After a couple of cellar doors it was time for lunch. Not just any lunch but lunch at Mt Difficulty. Oh my god was it good. I had Mt Cook Salmon with cockles washed down with a glass of riesling. Their riesling is phenomenal.
The view wasn't bad either.
A couple more cellar doors and then to Cromwell to check out the old town, relocated when they built the dam.
Of course no visit to a small New Zealand town is complete without visiting whatever the local tacky statue is. In this case, fruit...
Ah Aurum. This vineyard was definitely a highlight. I took home a bottle of white port but if funds had allowed a bottle of the Mathilde pinot noir wouldn't have gone amiss.
The next day started earlier with a drive out to Glenorchy. Just look at that view!
Horse trekking was first of the agenda. More stunning views and river crossings. Such a awesome way to check out some truely spectacular scenery.
This is Paradise. You might know it as the paddock(s) in which many movies are/were filmed - like Wolverine, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit etc etc.
We'd booked on a jet boat tour up the Dart River. It included a short stroll through the beech forest.
I'm pretty sure this one needs no caption. Just stunning, stunning scenery.
It's kind of hard to take pictures from a moving jet boat but what a way it was to see the sights. The riverbanks were covered in snow. The beech forests, mountain tops, beautiful clear day. I can see why this part of the country is so popular with the tourists.
On our last day we went out to cutesy Arrowtown for a wander. I could live there.
It would have been rude not to visit a few vineyards a little closer to Queenstown. I loved Brennan Wines. A bottle might have made its way home with me.
The gorge.
Scenic shot of a vineyard. I'd love to visit when it's all lush and green.
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