Queenstown - En Route to Te Anau

Here we are, in the Jackson Hole of New Zealand. And it is everybit true! First thing that happened as we were driving into town, we were trying to pass up some bicyclists, and considering there is no such thing as a shoulder on the roads here in New Zealand, we were waiting for a good straight section of road to pass them on. Well, sure enough, right behind us came a rich fool in his big subarban type car, and started honking at us cause we didn't pass the bicyclists on the blind corner! Yeah, you can tell it is rich ski town area here. But the skiing does look phenomenol! And to top it off, there is a lot of the adreniline junky things to do here. I've decided to do a Bungy Jump when we drive back through on Friday. I'm excited to tell you all about it!

So, I can't post pictures at this Internet Cafe, however, I've gotten some gorgeous ones that I am excited to share with all of you! We stayed last night at a friendly Backpacker called "Tailor-Made." It was situated in the small town (514 people small. . .) of lake Tekapo. (I like to pronounce that "Take a poo", but that is probably not the correct pronunciation.) The Mountain Lakes up here are the most beautiful teal color you could imagine. Visibility is terrible, but it makes for good pictures. We stopped at one lake that was situated right across from Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand. At this lake we took in the views, skipped rocks, and oh yeah, I sneezed a lot. That's right. My allergies have come back to try and ruin the trip! But I won't let them! I'll fight! With Drugs! :) So, that's why I love winter so much. Allergies.

For the last few days though, we have been driving. Driving driving and driving. The distances in the south Island are very long, and with my Mom, Linnea, and I all leaving on the 19th, we wanted to take in the best of the best of the south island. So this involves a lot of driving. We'll get there though. Tonight we are going to the town of Te Anau. It apparently has caves that you can explore completely on your own, and it is the gateway to the ever famous Milford Sound. I've heard lots about this area, so I am looking forward to taking a look for myself!

Then there is Larry. He is doing fine so far. He may need an oil change, and we had to replace a tire on him already, but all in all he is doing well. I have to admit, he isn't anywhere near as cool as Rove. Hopefully Rove is doing well under the tarp in the horse pasture right now. Larry is a little fidgety going up the hills, and today we had to stop to let him cool off a bit. Didn't take long though. It was a good stop with a beautiful view of Double Cone Mountain, which I think was the Mines of Moria in LOTR. However it may have been where the lighting of the beacons were done too. I'd have to watch the movie again.

So, that about does it for this post. Hope all is going well back home! Looking forward to telling you about more adventures!