NZ14:Day 23-12th Dec~am:A morning of photography & a bit of wine & cheese

Day 23 ~ Dec 13th: I go all David Bellamy! 

I was up early & on the phone to the Air Fiordland peeps, only to find that the weather wasn't suitable, so my flight was postponed to 2pm.
That meant I had a free morning, so I decided to drive out to Cromwell & the bit of the SH6 by Lake Dunstan I'd seen on my fast drive to Glenmac.
First though, I had a meander through Queenstown Gardens on the way out to Park St & the car, & took this shot of Wakatipu through the trees.

I needed gas, so after stopping at the garage in Frankton at the top of the hill to fill up, I headed back out along the SH6 towards Cromwell.

A Remarkable inversion

Just before I got in the car I took the pic of the inversion over the Remarkables. 
I'll ski there, one day.

On the way through Gibbston I saw a sign for Peregrine wines, & decided to call on the way back. The Took connection was too hard to resist, & besides, the Ake Ake was almost gone.

At Cromwell I headed up the Lowburn side towards Wanaka with Lake Dunstan to the right. 
There was a camp site lakeside, & it was early enough peeps were still having breakfast. 
Their bacon smelt wonderful :-)
According to Gmaps, it's called Lowbor Habor Camping Site, but I'm sure that's a typo?

Me being me, I went for a paddle & took a pic of a volcano-shaped hill, with a nice line of trees up the side.

Still smelling the bacon, I saw some blue lupins looking down the lake towards Cromwell, & then lay on the floor to get the pic of the lovely yellow flowers.

I wish I knew what these are

Back on my feet this mummy duck came floating by with her brood. 
8 were Mum coloured, but 1 was a golden chick. I wonder why?
Back on the road I spent quite a while taking photos of trees & flowers. As I'd noticed on the way down from Makarora, the yellows were amazing :-)

Shame about the fence posts!

Ditto :-/

Those nice yellow flowers again

More yellow. Mum would've loved it here.
It was her favourite colour

See the bee?

I spent quite a while on the SH6 ~ laying on the floor when there weren't any cars coming!


It was still only 10am, so there was no rush.

Another one I don't know the name of.
But it doesn't matter, it's still beautiful

That's Pecan Pie to go with the coffee & computing

Back in Cromwell, I found out I could get 30 min free wifi with a coffee, so I sat in the sun & checked my Es.

The Karawau River off Bannockburn Rd.
Cromwell is over the trees

Heading back towards Queenstown on the Kawarau Gorge Rd., there were loads of fruit farms as well as vineyards, & having seen a sign for Bannockburn, I decided to hang left & take a look.
Coming to Bannockburn Rd. I went right & crossed the Kawarau, pulling up just over the bridge for some more flowers!

Roses & the Kawarau looking down towards the Gorge

Blues & yellows by the Bannockburn bridge

Just after the bridge is a ranch-type sign for:

Bannockburn

Heart of the Dessert

Apparently it's one of the hottest areas & they grow a lot of expensive Pinot Noir here.

There were 3 other Scottish references on the signs on the right: Bannock Brae, Carrick & Cairnmuir. Clearly, the original miners etc. were of Scottish stock.
The Scottish hunt over, I went back towards the SH6 & my appointment with some vino.
At the Peregrine Winery, I had a wander through the grounds before entering the very chic Cellar Door for my tasting.

The function room at Peregrine Wines

I was the only one there, & had a go at quite a few, & as the tasting was free (check out the comments on TripAdvisor!), I thanked the helpful lady by buying a couple of dessert Rieslings.

Like I said, the tasting room was very chic!









Before I got in the car, I lay down on the floor again & took a photo of my double box of wine, & the Peregrine surroundings.

A Cheesery tree

Back in the car, I only travelled a short way back towards town when I saw a sign for Gibbston Valley Cheesery, so I drove in to take a look/taste.
The Cellar Door was available too, but I think they charge to taste, so I just tried a few of bits of cheese & bought 3 to take back to Nomads:~ Hard, Soft & Goat. 
Sadly, they cost nearly an arm & a leg at a touch over $30.
I shan't be shopping there again! ;-p

Out in the car park I found a nice tree with some colourful flowers underneath, so I took a couple of photos.

I got back to town by midday, & stashing the car on Park St again, I took my cheese to the fridge ~ carefully name & date labelling it first. I didn't want my expensive cheese being chucked out by staff cleaning out the fridge like they do every day.

I hid the Rieslings under my pillow, & went for a wander until 1300. I had a walk through town, & went up through Queenstown Gardens, noticing a load of lovely trees. I planned to go back the next day & get some pics.

Back at Nomads, 1305 came & went, & at 1320 I called Air Fiordland. They said the taxi was on its way.

It arrived at 1/2 past, & loaded with the camera & 2 mobiles (just in case!), I climbed in. On the way out we picked up a French bloke & a US couple. There were 2 English Honeymooners already in. I didn't get any names from my fellow guests, but the driver was called Don, & when we arrived at the airport the girl on reception was Danielle & the Captain was Dave ~ so a day of Ds. 

Well, it would've been if the Pilot hadn't been called Blair!

In case you didn't know, Milford Sound is the exceedingly famous body of water on the south-west coast of South Island. You can get day trips travelling by coach via Te Anau, but it does take a day, & I didn't want to waste what time I had sitting on a coach. Had I not driven to Te Anau from Queenstown in 2009, I may have thought of the cost, & done the coach trip, but the wonderful Jaimee from Queenstown I-Site helped me decide on a 1/2 day flight out & back ~ see below.

Plus, a guy at the other end of the E when I made enquiries at Air Fiordland offered me a deal for the 1/2 day flight out~boat on the Sound~flight back deal.

Sorted :-)

In blue is the E-conversation I had with Jaimee. I've been saving it for nearly 2 years :-0

Hi
I am not online at home, & while I can surf here at work, the system keeps chucking me out of google.
I am trying to compare Fly-Cruise-Flys to Milford Sound (ex Q/town), but due to the google problem I'm getting nowhere fast.
Please would you send me a list of tours from Queenstown to include departure times, length of flights*,& length of cruise (+ whether Cat or Ship)
* I had some success on the Milford Flights website, & notice they say you fly back over Sutherland Falls & glaciers. Is this the same for all the various operators?
I will be in Queenstown on Dec 11th to 13th ~ probably driving back up to Christchurch on the 14th. If I set off after lunch on the 14th, I may be able to do the 0800 that day as well, but I'd rather book the trip earlier (12th/13th) in case the weather stops the trip going.
If I haven't made myself clear, please E me.
Thanks a lot
Shirley

Hi Shirley,

Thank you for your enquiry.

There are a few companies that do this type of tour. Generally with all the flights they are 45 minutes each way to Milford Sound and back. And they all consist of 2 different types of cruises. The 2 cruises are either the Scenic Cruise (which is a 1 hour and a half to 1 hour and 45 minutes trip) and a Nature Cruise (which is a 2 hour to 2 and a half hour cruise).

Real Journeys is one of the companies that does the fly-cruise-fly. They run flights with both the scenic and nature cruises and have a twin engine plane. The main difference between the 2 cruises is that the nature cruise is on a large motorised sailboat and has a specialised nature guide on board who all your commentary comes from them and they are available to speak to if you have any questions. The Scenic cruise is 1 hour and 40 minutes long and all your commentary comes from your skipper, there is also generally a second commentary in a different language. The price per person ranges from $450 - 520. The price depends on the time and type of cruise you participate in.

Milford Sound Scenic Flights and Air Fiordland also do the fly-cruise-fly. They however only do the flights with the nature cruise. The company they do this with is Mitre Peak Cruises. This is a small boat cruise so you are low down in the water and can be close to the wildlife if they interact with the boat at the time of the cruise. All your commentary comes from your skipper on this tour and they have a single engine plane too. Their price per person ranges from $450 - $500.

Air Milford is the other company. They however do their cruises with Southern Discoveries and Cruise Milford. The Cruise Milford is a Scenic cruise and is 1 and a half hours long and all your commentary comes from your skipper. The Nature Cruise is with Southern Discoveries and that is a 2 hour and 15 minute cruise with a specialised Nature guide on board that is also able to answer any questions that you could possibly have at the time. This company has a single engine plane for their trips too. The price per person is between $460 - $520

Hope this helps.

If you have any more questions please do not hesitate to contact me further.

We are also located in the centre of town so if you need to make any bookings or have any questions during your trip and are open 8.30am to 7.30pm 7 days a week.

We can also organise any trips you would like to do even before you leave.

Sorry for the late reply, we have had a few difficulties with our emails for the last few days.

Kind regards,

Jaimee

Frontline Consultant
Queenstown i-SITE Visitor Centre

Now that's what I call customer service. Totally Awesome!

I sent Jaimee thank you, & said:

Jamiee

Thanks a lot for all that info.

I am going with Air Fiordland on Dec 12th.

I will be blogging it, so have a look at http://shirleynzandorangs.blogspot.com/ in a couple of months (or 6  ;-p  )  You’ll probably get a mention!

So you can see that I was a teensy weensy bit on the optimistic side - even saying 6 months. Ahem!

But better late than never, & when I've finished this in a few minutes, I shall send it, & hope Jaimiee is still at the Queenstown I-Site, & enjoys the blog.

Here's a footnote to the heading of this blog, for those too young to remember, & those followers who aren't from the UK: 

David Bellamy was a very enthusiastic botanist/environmentalist on TV in the '80s. 

David Bellamy OBE
David Bellamy in 1981
Born	18 January 1933 (age 83) London, England, UK
Education	Sutton County Grammar School; Chelsea College of Science and Technology (now part of King's College London); Bedford College (now part of Royal Holloway, University of London)
Employer	Durham University
Known for	botanist, author, broadcast presenter, environmental campaigner

He was famously parodied by Lenny Henry.

The Bellamy Rap - Three of a Kind Series 1 - YouTube

Due to the number of photos I took, the actual Milford Sound blog is next up, but as it's gone 2300, & I'm at work at 0800, it will have to wait for another day/week/month ~ err, year??

OAO