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South Island Panorama Madness

Although the landscape was stunning for some reason I didn't take as many panos as usually - but here they are:

Just outside of Queenstown

On the way to Glenorchy (from Queenstown)

On the Glenorchy walk

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The South Island - Wanaka, Franz Josef, and Ardgour

The drive from Queenstown to Wanaka is stunning. At the very beginning you're treated to a great view back down on Queenstown and the Remarkables, then you wind your way down through more amazing scenery toward Lake Wanaka. There we stopped briefly to get coffee, but since we were staying at nearby Lake Hawea, we headed on without exploring too much (there were quite a lot of people enjoying the lakeside since it was a roasting day). From our room at the Hawea Lodge we had a great view of the lake, and since it was a sunny day we went for a swim. It was cold, but quite relaxing.

The next day we were off on a long trek to Franz Josef. Again, it was hard to ask for better views on the drive. One piece of advice would be to break this up a bit more if you are interested in soaking up more, especially going on a hike or bike ride. However, we had an afternoon date with a glacier to make. There are a number of tours available to you, some taking up onto the ice itself. We took the Glacier Valley Eco Tours and were quite happy with it, as the guide was extremely knowledgeable and fielded a number of questions. We also saw a Kea, an alpine parrot. Keas are smart and strong, even capable of doing damage to cars by pecking out the rubber to get inside.

After a great day at the glacier, we faced a long...loooong drive back toward Queenstown toward the Ardgour Valley. There we stayed at a remarkable Strawbale cottage in the middle of an olive farm (simply the Ardgour Strawbale Bed & Breakfast). The hosts were amazing and we had a great dinner there. It was so pleasant it would have been nice to relax another day and take in wine tours around the area, but our time on the South Island had drawn to a close and we had to leave to go back to Wellington.

While we saw a lot, we left with the feeling there was so much more we could do in these regions, not to mention the rest of the South Island. Hopefully we'll have a chance to return soon.

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The South Island - Queenstown and environs

Having never explored the South Island it was difficult to choose an area to focus on. With around a week it wasn't possible to really do a thorough exploration, and in the end we decided to focus on Queenstown and the nearby environs since it was purported to have the best New Year's party and weather.

It was just a short hop from Wellington, and we were down on the ground. After a quick lunch and walk around town we were off to explore the nearby Arrowtown, just a short drive to the north. It's a quaint old mining town, where you can pick up some gold panning skills, see an old chinese camp, and enjoy a few shops and restaurants. Definitely worth the drive, but to maximize your stay I'd recommend you enjoy some of the nearby walks, especially if you are hunting down scenes from the Lord of the Rings - since it was the location of the Ford of Bruinen.

The next day we went further afield to check out Glenorchy, Kinloch, and Paradise. It was a gorgeous drive and Glenorchy offered even more beautiful scenery. The loop at the foot of town is highly recommended. Here you will find scenery used to flesh out Isengard. After Glenorchy, however, you hit gravel roads...just be prepared for a long and bumpy ride. However, Paradise served as the location for Lothlorien. We were hoping to grab some food in Kinloch, but the holiday rush had run them out of food and the shore was packed with campers (in fact, the whole area is busy with campers).

Taking a long drive out to Te Anau we took a small cruise around the lake to check out the Glow Worm caves. If you've never seen glow worms, it's an amazing sight and highly recommended. The drive is pretty (but long). If heading that way I would recommend another day or two to check out the Fjordland National Park and Milford Sound.

Returning to Queenstown we enjoyed the NY celebration. Have to say it was packed and quite mental. Queenstown itself seems oriented for a younger crowd, so if you're not prepared for milling packs of youths and a rather crowded time you're better off staying in nearby Wanaka - which was our next destination.

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The Wairarapa

After a rather mental run up to the holiday season, which involved relocating and setting up our new home as well as having family and friends over, we managed to hit the road once again.

With our good friends Gio + Michelle in town we thought we'd start just over the hill (The Rimutakas), sampling the wine delights of Martinborough. After sampling 27 wines across Margrain, Shuberts, Vynfields, Haythornthwaite, and Tirohana, we headed into the Martinborough Hotel for some ciders before retiring to our home amidst the vineyards of Margrain to enjoy our picks.

The next morning we were off to check out the Putangirua Pinnacles (For you Lord of the Rings fans, the Paths of the Dead where Aragorn recruits an army of spirits in The Return of the King). An ancient layer of gravel washed down from the Aorangi Range, these formations were created by over 120,000 years of erosion from the Putangirua Stream.

It makes for an easy and amazing walk, although it is sometimes nervous to look up and see a large boulder poised precariously over your head.

At times they've eroded into interesting formations.

Also, the gravel they've exposed is from the time the Aorangi Range was an Island (7 million years ago), and many of the rocks you see are full of fossils from this ancient layer.

There's much more to do in the Wairarapa, but we only had time for a drive by the coast before heading back to prep for our trip to the South Island.

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Hong Kong

Just back from the US and Canada I had the good fortune for a quick trip out to Hong Kong to save some puppets. Pretty much just there and back for one night from NZ, but I had time enough for a good wander and some tasty meals.

Food highlights were a great Dan Dan Mien at Hearty (near Soho), noodles Mok’s Noodles made famous by Anthony Bourdain (best with a few sauces from the table), the super spicy chicken of Chili Fagara, and finally an amazing congee from Ho Hung Kee (highly recommended).

PS - If you’re wondering what the puppets look like visit http://www.wotwots.com

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Vancouver and Siggraph

I had the good fortune to return to Vancouver for a visit to the Corsi family as well as for Siggraph.

G+M greeted me at the airport and then we were off - to the races! Didn’t have much luck with the horses at what is supposedly one of the crookedest race tracks in Canada, but did have some luck at a Stark Trek slot machine inside that paid for drinks at that evening’s Corsi family BBQ (which was amazing, as always)!

Then Siggraph ensued and it was a rush of seeing old friends and co-workers from across the world, as well as a lot of dining and drinks (the mandatory Siggraph parties).

For those still interested in food and drink adventures, the highlights were Earl’s for afternoon G&Ts, a yummy dog from Japadog, an amazing Tenderloin at Q4, the convention standby of Malony&Sons, a bevy of custom made beverages at the Refinery, and of course the Red Lion for the finale.