Caroline, Sydney Side: The Town of the Queens

I was pretty excited for the second leg of the grand family tour of ANZ. While we were so sad to see my sister Hilary leave, Dad and I were damn excited to head across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. As you may know, New Zealand is comprised of two islands - The North Island and the South Island. I've been to the North Island (Auckland, specifically) on business but never to the South Island. Many many friends have told me that it is truly spectacular. Every one of them was spot on.

Let me tell you a bit about New Zealand and it's South Island. New Zealand is thought to have been founded by the Dutch in 1642, who beat the French by only 2-3 days in discovering this far away land. But to be accurate, NZ was actually founded by people from the South Pacific (exact original homeland unknown) who are now known as the Maori. Though the South Island is the larger of the two, only about 25% of NZ's population of 4.2M people live there. In the southwest area of the island, you will find Queenstown, which is built on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes which has magnificent views of nearby mountains.

Dad and I flew in to Christchurch from Sydney, but stayed for only one night. Christchurch was struck by an immensely powerful earthquake just over one year ago, and unfortunately was devastated by the disaster. Many people were killed and the charming city center is now still in ruins. Dad and I drove around but could see nothing but ruins and construction, so we called it an early night and hit the road early the next day to drive to Queenstown. Q'town is about 6 hours southwest of Christchurch and the drive is one of the most beautiful in the world.

A highlight was passing by Lake Tekapo (which the charming, tiny Church of the Good Shepherd) and Lake Pukaki. The turquoise hue of the lakes was truly awe-inspiring. The color is due to the "rock flour", created as the glaciers strip away fine particles from the mountains and grind them into a fine dust. I will never forget the absolute beauty. It was quite windy, as you can see from the photo of Dad below!

Church of the Good Shepherd @ Lake Tekapo

Dad being blown away at Lake Tekapo

Lake Pukaki and it's magnificent turquoise blue color

We then ventured through the mountains, Gibbston Valley vineyards area and into Queenstown. Q'town is truly the most charming city I have ever visited. I did not want to leave and spent the whole time devising ways to stay!! We had amazing food, met nice people, relaxed and took in beautiful scenery. A few of the highlights of the trip for me are:

- The bumpy flight in a tiny 8-seater airplane over snow-capped mountains to the majestic Milford Sound, and a cruise to take in the calm, serene beauty of the world's highest mountains that jut straight from the sea. It was COLD, but lovely.
- Tours of vineyards and wineries across Gibbston Valley. Discovering the pinot "blondie" at the Wooing Tree Winery and the "Viper" pinot noir at Chard Hill.
- Delicious eggs benedict and flat whites at Vudu Cafe, hearty bolognese at The Cow (a tiny 7-table restaurant with a wood-burning stove in a building that used to the joint where cows were milked for Q'town proper) and a savory lamb shoulder at the Botswana Butchery
- a gondola ride up to the top of "Bob's Mountain" to see all of Queenstown from up top
- watching the Aussie Open every night until toothpicks were holding our eyes open for us
- experiencing a wonderful town for 3 days for the first time with my Dad.

I think Dad and I will both treasure the time and experiences we shared in Queenstown. We both reflected how fortunate we are to have had this time together and to see new parts of this world with each other. I will forever cherish the memories we made.

Please enjoy just a few of our favorite photos!