Wasn't the wedding great? It all went so well (apart from a few cold feet at the reception!); it was the best day of our lives. Many thanks to all came, especially those who came from so far. It wouldn't have been the same without you.
For those of you who missed the pre-wedding frivolities...
Now, to the story. After many lingering goodbyes the impatient groom swept his bride into his arms and carried her to the getaway car. After a brief stop at the inlaw's house to change clothes and say goodbye to the dogs, we headed for Mt Tambourine. The Polish Place was our destination, where we found a beautiful wooden cottage waiting for us. The fire was soon lit and we allowed ourselves ample time to relax before succumbing to sleep. In the morning the landscape below was blanketed in white - evidence of the -5C frost that had settled overnight. We remained there for a second night, before returning to our cute little cottage in town where a warm welcome awaited. Well done guys!
Tuesday we traversed the Tasman in one of those "fine collection of cracks", arriving in Dunedin mid-afternoon. Our rental car turned out to be a Rover 216 which proved to be a pleasure to drive, and a bit of a dark horse: 0-100km/hr in under 10s with two occupants and luggage! Our first night's accomodation:
A chocolate fish for all those who guessed Larnach Castle. You couldn't stay in the castle proper (as it is actually lived in by the owners), but you could dine there and then retire to an adjacent lodge. The food was excellent, and the other guests at the table did not remain complete strangers for long. Needless to say we enjoyed our stay there. The next day we visted the Albatross colony and investigated the steepest street in the world. We stayed a second night in Dunedin, and then headed up the coast.
We found these round boulder's rather interesting. They may be just a spherical lump of sendimentary rock, but their grouping and location caught our artistic bent. We carried on up to Mt Cook Village, which we found rather deserted and boring. We ended up staying in a cabin at a camp ground halfway between Mt Cook Village and Twizel, and dinner was found in Twizel at the "Hunter's bar and Cafe" (which was rather good). Friday night was spent in Wanaka.
Saturday we went for a drive toward Mt Aspiring National park, but the road quickly became impassable for our little Rover. Still, we found a nice shady patch with lots of snow. Where's Sue?
Saturday night was also spent in Wanaka, and we woke on Sunday morning to find the condensation on the inside of our unit was frozen! We then drove up to Frans-Joseph and booked ouselves on a half day glacier walk the next day. The next day duly came and it wasn't long before we found ourselves kitted out with spiked boots and walking the well carved track up the glacier. The weather was fantastic and the experience well worth the expense. The afternoon was spent driving back to Queenstown where we lodged for the night.
Today was the big spend. We chartered a hellicopter for a flight over Queenstown and the remarkables, and then the Hooker Jet (which was better value than the helicopter), and then on to the most expensive accomodation either of us had ever stayed in: Pear Tree Cottage.
And located on the valley floor just by Coronet peak ski field, it really was good. The owners had bought the place in the seventies and had spent many years doing it up and furnishing it with what must have been over $100K worth of antiques. It was so romantic and quaint! We took photos of inside and out, and even recorded many of their creative ideas for future reference. Nevermind about the alarm clock going off at midnight ...
The next day we popped into Queenstown to process some photos, and then we headed for Te Anau where we stayed at the holiday park. Onto Milford fairly early in the morning where the overpriced boat trip awaited us. The weather was great and we had a good view of the famous Mitre Peak:
By now we were completely ready to return to warm and sunny Brisbane and continue married life in out own home!