Wanaka and Queenstown, New Zealand

 The weather has drastically changed through out the day.  Did I tell you that there is a heated pool at the Wyndham?  Yes I started the day with a swim.

 Our visit to Queenstown took us on another winding road over the mountain.  The views varied as the weather changed.  Much of this mountain was covered in brown scrub brush with an feel of the west in the USA.  

 In Queenstown we enjoy walking through the shops, and saw this wonderful replica of a Maori jade hatchet.  It reminded us of the Tahiti skull splitter that we already have! The Maori used this green stone for tools and weapons because it was very hard and they did not have the use of metals. 

We saw the monument to the founder of Queenstown, William Rees, who built the first buildings by the lake in 1861 and sold his holdings during the gold rush in 1862 for $10,000 pounds.  He did well for himself.

 There was a chilly wind along the water front, and the snow capped mountains were in view across the lake.  We stopped in the Starbucks for a cup of coffee overlooking the Queenstown Mall.  Starbucks is the only place we have found a legitimate cup of brewed coffee.  Tom has been ordering what the Kiwis call "flat white" coffee, but he was glad to get this.  The table was overlooking the blooming flower trees on the mall that we enjoyed before heading back to Wanaka.  

 It rained on us as we drove home, but we saw a beautiful rainbow in the valley.  We took the wide road home riding around the mountain instead of across and saw some beautiful views of the water and peaks. 

















We saw tall snow topped mountains across Lake Dunstan from the highway.  

 Then we we got back, we figured out where the locals eat because the parking lot was full and the place was full of families and children - The Lone Star!