We woke up in Dunedin more tired than we were when we went to sleep. The AirBnB was advertised as airconditioned, but.... We arrived to a very hot house with a small AC unit in the living room and no units in the bedrooms. We ran that unit for hours and only made a dent in the temperature of the living room while the rest of the house stayed hot. Leslie ended up sleeping in the living room on a pile of couch cushions so she did not sleep well at all. I slept in the upstairs bedroom with the windows open listening to a raucous Saturday night in Dunedin. We decided to skip our second night at this marginal AirBnB and head to Queenstown a day early. What a great decision! The Hilton in Queenstown had AC, nice beds, comfortable couches and was right on the water. To top it off it was whisper quiet! However the drive took 4 hours partly due to construction and road conditions. Partly due to the rain which varied from misting to heavy. The heaviest rain seemed to be in the most mountainous part of the drive. Thanks to Leslie we got to Queensland alive and in one piece!
227 km is 140 miles. It seems like we could knock that out in just 2 hours
But there is construction
River crossings
One lane bridges
With wooden decking!
But we had lots to watch, like this rodeo
Old phosphate factories
Stopping to stretch in small towns
And to swing
Fruit to buy
Two ladies in the stand wanted to buy these wheels. they were not for sale
Maters!
Old 1940's technology still in operation
A pit stop for lunch in Roxburgh
Cool art by the swanky high tech public restrooms
A bit grizzly
Artsy town
We stood up to eat our lunch
Right along a series of rivers, Roxburgh took two hours to get to
These shoes have been here a long time
The valley we are traveling through is big on the stone fruits
A long lake that we paralleled on the road along the hills
Wide open spaces
Getting closer
Hydroelectric facility
The flooded area contains the gold fields of old
But a nice ride at this point
Hard rock face
We have reached Cromwell
This is a large town, population 5,500!
A major confluence of rivers
Also a hub of huge fruit
So close to Queenstown , but the rain continues
Look at the antlers on these beasts
A tiny she shed
It is getting more mountainous
Queenstown is right around the corner
Golden Mountains
The river leading out of Lake Wakatipu
The Lake from our Hotel
A nice outdoor area
The dock where the water taxi stops
From the walkway along the lake
The rain has stopped
and the sun is out
So are the Coots
Glacial powder blue
Some fine houses
The water ranges from 50 to 55 degrees over the year, wet suits required
Unless you are a baby coot
