Design Your Day-Canceled because of RAIN!

We were supposed to have a day of our choice of activities from a Jet Boat Safari, E-Bike the Queenstown Trails or Skippers Canyon by 4x4 Vehicle. Instead it was EATING & DRINKING because of the RAIN! We started the day with a cave tasting at Gibbston Valley Winery.

We stopped by this  iconic bungie jumping location and watched a couple of brave souls. AJ  Hackett has a good track record, the company hasn't lost a life yet!

Amisfield Winery. I took some pics for Craig....MARKETING! Everyone who worked for Amisfield had a some sort of "flowery" uniform, even dresses. Don't think a flowery uniform would fly for GTV! The wine was very good.

We did a food and wine pairing at Amisfield, New Zealand. The Master Chef is Vaughan Magee. Recently rated as a “Top 50 best restaurants in the world”. Mike says, "Amazingly creative and I can’t go into trying to describe the sauces and preparations, but suffice it to say very delicious and unique dining experience."

Mike & Master Chef Vaughan Magee. He stopped by our table and Mike was able to ask him lots of questions about food & how he made certain dishes. His father was a famous yacht racer from New Zealand, his mother from California. He was a chef in NY & CA and Spain before settling back to where his father lives in NZ.

The food was unique, interesting, delicious....to good. I'm not that adventuresome, but I tried everything. The food looked like ART! My only problem was sitting so long. Also, I'm not a day drinker, but Karen & I drank sparkling water while the guys did the wine pairing!

Next stop was the Village Gin shop. Recommended by our diver, Fraizer. 

He said his friend Yourgi owned the place...goes by George. Low and behold! George was there and visited with Mike & Mike while they did their gin tastings. George was quiet a colorful guy and used the "F" word in nearly every sentence. George showed us pictures of Fraizers new 500K fishing boat....and we thought Fraizer was diving for our crayfish for some extra cash. He must have been along for the FUN!

I just took a bunch of pictures of the funny "GIN" posters.

Jacob was one of our tour guides. He was originally from Poland but now has citizenship in NZ too. He was smart and knowledgeable. 

This is a famous burger place. They make fresh buns & burgers. There is always a LINE! We didn't eat here as we were too full from our fancy wine & dine meals.

Old Irish pub that had Red Ale on tap. Kilean's Red Ale on tap.

Mike & Mike have a night cap! They were so full from dinner they could barely drink it, but said it was so very tasty!

We had a little surprise when we landed in Hawaii. The pilot asked if we had ground transportation. We were surprised because the plane was supposed to get a new crew and we were supposed to land in Lincoln at 8:30 AM. The mix up caused us to spend the night in Honolulu. I think it turned out for the best, we had a nice place to rest and then flew home the next day!

Plane ride sunset!

Mike & Mike trying out the wine while we wait for our rooms to be readied.

View from our balcondy.

Super nice hotel. The pilot booked it for us. Since Vista Jets screwed up the flights, the hotel was on them!

We took a walk on Waikiki Beach! Nice to stretch our legs before another long flight.

We had breakfast in our 3 bedroom suite. It was elegant and the location was perfect.

 

Incredible Trip to Milford Sound witanother Helicopter Ride!

Our tour guides often remind us that Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand. I have not watched it, but our boys love that movie. The clouds started to move in and it made Karen and I nervous flying over the mountains. Our pilot, Pete, was excellent and took no risks. On our way home, he followed the water and didn't go directly over the mountains until the clouds dispersed. 

Pete landed in Poison Bay and Frazier got his wetsuit on. He was in charge of collecting crayfish for our lunch! There were many sandflies on this beach, so we opted to get back in the helicopter while Frazier went into the water. Frazier told us that often when he is "fishing," Pete searches the rock field to look for jade rocks. Pete's wife is Maori and he made her a pendent for her birthday which happened to be the day of our helicopter ride. He was very proud of his skills and showed us pictures of the necklace. It was IMPRESSIVE!

Wetsuit from head to toe....the water is COLD!

Loaded his basket with crayfish...cold water lobster! Dang, I didn't get a picture of the

spiny sea urchin. Frazier said the Maori people really enjoy it, but it is an acquired taste and he said he is not fond of the flavor either!

Pete shows off one of the crayfish. Notice his tattoo? Many Maori people have them. They have lots of meaning. Not sure if Pete's tattoo has a cultural meaning or not. 

We landed on the lawn of Fiordland Lodge Te Anau to have our crayfish lunch.

The seafood platter!

The RED meat platter!

The dessert platter!

It was WAY to MUCH! 

Pete, our pilot & Frazier, our diver! Frazier told us where to find George, or Yourgie...owner of "Broken Heart Gin at the Village Gardens....more on George later!

 

Arriving in QUEENSTOWN!

This is the historic district of Arrowtown. It is an old gold mining town. It reminded us of places like Deadwood, SD or Leadville, CO. 

Gold was discovered in the Arrow River by Jack Tewa in 1862. It was said to be the richest gold bearing river for its size in the world. Today, Justin Eden, the owner of the gold shop, still has miners (wetsuits & tools?) that still search for gold and sell it to him. Justin told us he had an Asian man offer him a 125K ...or was it 250K? for his larger gold nuggets and he refused to sell. I bought a small "gold" necklace as a souvenir.... NOT a NUGGET! Mike said, "Happy Valentine's Day!"

The next few pictures are of the huts the Chinese Gold diggers made for themselves. Our guide, Jacob, said that it was especially hard for the Chinese as they were taxed heavily and were not allowed to bring their wives and family with them. 

They tried to build their "home"  near any tree or bush possible because it could be so HOT in the summer and shade was needed. It could also get very cold old in the winter. Life must have been miserable!

Across the street from the gold shop was a jade & opal shop. We talked to the owner and got to see his back room workshop. Not the greatest picture, but JADE is very important to the Maori people. (original people to New Zealand from Polynesia. The Maori people have a big influence on NZ. They have their own language, songs, stories and a culture that is very strong. Jade was important because it was originally used to make tools. Now they make jewelry and other items. Here is what I learned after googling: Jade pendants called Hei-Tiki were passed down as family heirlooms and were a means of connecting the current wearer with the wisdom of their ancestors.

I didn't buy a jade piece. They were pretty big pendants.

This is a picture of the painting the artist, Thomas L. Brown, painted. We stopped at his studio on our way home from Arrowtown. It was awkward as his wife & him showed us around the studio, which was an old cheese factory. None of us wanted to buy anything, so it felt like pressure to listen and be interested. 

Queenstown is a bustling small city. Lots of restaurants & shops. 

Watching the sun go down in Queenstown!

After our tour of Arrowtown, the old gold mining town, we had lunch at Milford Golf Club where the New Zealand Open was going to be held. Mike is SUPER HAPPY as he listened to the NE BB game while on our tour. NE beat Maryland and won in OVERTIME. Mike has missed 4 NE BB games and they have WON all 4. Fans are telling him to stay "down under!"

Walking the harbor in Queenstown.