Exploring Australia&NZ Day 16

Day 16 - Sunday, May 1, 2011 – Depart Mount Cook on the Way to Queenstown; Lunch at Omarama; Explore Kawarau Bridge Bungy; Arrive in Queenstown Late Afternoon

Opening the curtains this morning at 7:00 was a wonderful surprise – a beautiful view of majestic Mt. Cook – what a way to begin our day. As the sun came up I was able to take several panoramic views of the valley and the Southern Alps.

We had breakfast and then walked around the hotel grounds taking more photos in the crisp mountain air. This is Sir Edmund Hillary country and many of the locations are named in his honor.

As we got on the bus Melanie greeted us with the Maori welcome “kia ora.” She had arranged for our departure time to be later this morning giving us until 11:00 to get on the bus.

Melanie and Scotty took turns telling us about the area and the sheep that graze on the sides of these mountains. The prevalent variety in this region is the Merino – bred for very soft and luxurious wool for fine thread.

Scotty told us about one rancher who set the record for the price of a bale of wool; $120,000 sold to an Italian garment house. Of course, that does not happen every day and most sheep are raised for meat products as there is more money in meat than wool.

Rabbits were also introduced as a food source and because of their procreation rates; the country is overrun with bunnies. There are not any natural predators in New Zealand; no snakes, no wild dogs; no large wild cats, only Harrier Hawks that we have seen often.

In order to bring down the rabbit population they introduced weasels and ferrets. You guessed it; now the country is over-run with rabbits, weasels, and ferrets!

Because of the lack of natural predators, the majority of birds in New Zealand are ground nesters and the weasels and ferrets also eat the bird eggs.

Our first stop was back at Lake Pukaki for another scenic photo of Mt. Cook and the surrounding range. The light was not quite as good and one could tell that soon the mountain would be completely covered with clouds.

We stopped for lunch at 12:15 at a tiny village called Omarama at the Merino Country Café and gift shop. Instead of having lunch, we chose to stroll around the town, (less than one block) and take a few photos.

Back on the road at 1:00 we continued on winding roads and we went over narrow, one lane bridges. At Cromwell, we stopped at Mrs. Jones’s Fruit Stand. It was a gorgeous setting, 60º and 60% humidity.

The fruit stand was once just that and now has grown into a famous tourist stop for the fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts, and her famous ice cream. I think almost everyone on the bus had some of her samples and a dish or cone of ice cream.

Melanie passed around photos of her jumping off a bridge just as we drove through a very steep gorge and came to the famed Kawarau Bridge. This is where the world's first bungee operation opened to the public.

Today this is a multimillion dollar industry. For only $180 a person can tie two elastic cords to his/her feet and dive off a 141 foot drop into a swirling stream. Photos or videos of the event are extra of course.

No one in our group tried this extreme sport, but we all watched several people jump and they all bounced back, no worse for wear.

Our final discovery for the day was a stroll through the little village of Arrowtown that was celebrating its Fall Festival. With fantastic views of the deciduous larch trees turning burnt orange and the town decked out for the festival, we had an hour to explore.

Everyone was back on the bus at 5:00 for the 20 minute drive into Queenstown. This city is known as New Zealand's "adventure capital" and is situated in a very scenic location. Our room had a picture perfect view the jagged Remarkables Mountains and glacial Lake Wakatipu.

By the time we checked into the hotel and received our bags, we had an hour to get settled before our dinner together at 7:00.

Dinner was excellent and very well presented. At 9:00 we came back to the room to get the journal and photos posted for the day.

Accommodations: St. Moritz Queenstown - - - Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Please see our Trip Evaluation -- Click Here -- A Complete Review of Exploring Australia & New Zealand with Odysseys Unlimited.