After our "walk", believe it or not, we decided against lunch....strolled the streets and did a bit of shopping, then hiked yet another hill to get to the Gondola, which is a "must do" in Queenstown....ok, so a gondola is a gondola....a ski lift....been on a few...not too excited, but will ride with the guide books and word of mouth.
Adventurers take their bikes with them because the new "bike park" just opened last year....you have to pay to ride in it and you also have to be an experienced mountain, trail, trick rider to do so....
Supplies for the restaurant/bar on the summit ride up the Gondola with us......there is no other way up!
The view is breathtaking.....so is the altitude!
Off to the right, under the green tarp, is a bungee jump....never saw anyone jump, still wondering where they would go???? Between the Gondola and the trees???? no, thanks
Information from the Gondola's summit about the Lake Wakatipu.....where Queenstown is located.
The city cemetery is located at the foot of the Gondola....quite certain that the cemetery preceded the Gondola.....also quite certain that there are many "turning over in their graves' at this encroachment!
The Kiwi humor continues to humor us!
The TSS Earnslaw was built in 1911 -- 102 years old. She is a coal fired steamer with twin propellers (twin screws) thus theTSS.
We could watch them shoveling the coal into the fire box and stoking the fire. She has a fire-tube boiler that could produce steam up to 165 psig.
She has 2 - 3 expansion stage steam engines. The smaller pistons are for the high pressure steam. The next two cylinders are progressively larger and are for the lower pressure steam. The same steam drives all 3 pistons.
She uses the old fashion means of communication between the bridge and the engine room -- you've seen it on the old movies.
She shows that she was grandmothered around the present environmental laws by belching vast quantities of black coal smoke.
Walter Peak is a family owned farm/business for the past 100 plus years.
The grounds/gardens were so lovely and despite the waning summer, they were in full bloom. This is only a fraction of the photos which depicted the grounds.....we were wandering and enjoying... the staff located us to come "sit" for dinner.....
Dinner was very tasty and the service was excellent.
A sheep shearing is a part of the evening....thankfully, AFTER dinner....
That is a lot of wool from one sheep, but did you know???....the Merino sheep are nurtured solely for their fine "coat", wool. The Romney sheep outnumber the Merino because of their versatility, i.e., their wool AND their meat.
This placid sheep dog was a witness to the whole evening and cares for these sheep in a tender, caring manner.....very responsive to master and to sheep.
The return cruise was very entertaining....the piano player (under the bright light) entertained on the cruise over, played during dinner, but was most recognized on our return. He played American, New Zealand, British, and Irish popular songs.....perhaps our imagination, but the American songs were the most widely, loudly sung....and the Americans were in the minority. Reminiscent of our Sunday afternoon in the Christchurch Botanic Garden when everyone sang the lyrics to American folk songs.
