We rest a bit then go to Nautical Nellies for dinner. It's just a 15-20 minute walk back to our hotel after dinner and is easy using the lighted British Columbia Legislature Building as a landmark.
Wednesday is a travel day. We take a taxi into the Village and meet IslandLink which will take us from Whistler to Vancouver Island. I am not sure how big of a vehicle to expect, but IslandLink turns out to be a 12 passenger van. Our driver Michael introduces himself, another couple joins us, and we are rolling promptly at 10 AM. The mountains are still largely in the clouds as we start our journey, but I still try taking a few photos through the window along the way. 45 minutes later we arrive at the town of Squamish, stopping for a few minutes to stretch our legs and for the driver to see if there are any additional passengers. It also gives me a chance for a couple of photos outside of the van. The van continues along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, arriving at the Horseshoe Bay ferry port at 11:30 AM. There's plenty of time for the van to queue for the 12:30 PM ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. In the mean time we go grab a coffee along with the other passengers. The ferry crossing takes 1 hour 40 minutes and it lightly rains during the entire journey. After Michael drives off the ferry he drives around to the front of the ferry building and drops us off with our luggage. We catch a taxi to the Nanaimo airport where we pick up our rental car for the next week. William re-orients himself to a right hand drive car, then we head down Canada 1 to the city of Victoria. We arrive at the Royal Scot Hotel at 5:30 PM. After being spoiled by Nita Lake Lodge our hotel room feels small and a little dated but it is clean, comfortable, and less than half the cost. Best of all, it is well located to sightsee and enjoy Victoria.
We rest a bit then go to Nautical Nellies for dinner. It's just a 15-20 minute walk back to our hotel after dinner and is easy using the lighted British Columbia Legislature Building as a landmark.
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We spend Monday and Tuesday hanging out in Whistler. After sleeping in on Monday, William and I head back into the Village to ship our wedding clothes back to the US and get William's Canadian cell service working properly. While there, we also have time to go through the Audain Art Museum. The architecture of the building is interesting, with it's long hallway of glass to the outside. We enjoy the Canadian art, including the First Nations masks and art and the works of Emily Carr and E.J. Hughes. Monday evening ten of us take an enjoyable sleigh ride on the side of the mountain then catch a later dinner in Whistler Village. By Tuesday half of the group has departed for home. The clouds and light rain continue,so it isn't a good day for skiing or for taking the Peak-to-Peak Gondola for photographs. After breakfast I opt to soak in one of the outdoor hot tubs for a while - using my Northwestern cap to keep the cold rain off my face. What a look! In the afternoon Paul, Kara, Todd, Susan, William and I hang out in the Village for a while. After walking the Village checking out the stores and sites we stop into a Mexican restaurant, only to find out they just offer snacks from 3:30 to 5:30. We have a drink and a couple of appetizers then go back to the condo for a simple dinner (and finish the remaining wedding cake). It's early, but William and I give hugs around and Todd takes back to the Lodge - we leave Whistler in the morning.
It's Sunday - wedding day for Paul and Kara. Yesterday there was light snow, today we have light rain. Oh well - it's supposed to be good luck to have rain on your wedding day. The Moms and Kara gather in Kathy and Delmer's room a little before 11 AM for hair and make-up sessions. At 1 PM Georgiana and I excuse ourselves to go get dressed. At 2 PM some of us are picked up by the wedding planner. We go pick up Paul at the condo then drive to the wedding venue at Alta Lake. It is a small pretty pavilion on the side of the lake. We all make our way over the snow down to the pavilion and are shortly joined by Paul and Kara's friends. We chit-chat with the officiant and the photographer awaiting the car bringing Kara and the remaining parents. Shortly Delmer, Kathy and Marv are making their way down the path to the pavilion. We gather about in the small pavilion, the music starts and Kara appears with the wedding planner closely behind her with an umbrella. Everyone is smiling from ear-to-ear, especially Paul. The officiant welcomes everyone and speaks of the commitment of marriage. Paul and Kara exchange their vows in this beautiful setting with parents and a few friends gathered around. They are both clearly very happy, and all of us are happy for them. After a champagne toast and some photos the parents and friends go to Nita Lake Lodge for drinks and appetizers while the bridal couple poses for more photos.
This evening the wedding dinner is held at Red Door Bistro. The French food is wonderful - from the foie gras and other appetizers to the different entrees selected by each person (I have duck breast and William choses bouillabaisse). During the meal the diners at other tables in the small restaurant also enjoy the celebration - one older couple even sends over some champagne and toasts with the bride and groom. A delicious wedding cheesecake finishes out the meal and a beautiful day. We wish a long, joyous marriage for Paul and Kara. They are such special people and a special couple. Nita Lake Lodge is where the three sets of parents are staying. It is a gorgeous all-suite hotel. William and I have a studio on the top floor and it has a magnificent vaulted ceiling. The sliding doors lead out to a small balcony; unfortunately it is a little too cold to sit outside and enjoy the amenity. After sleeping late on Saturday morning, we have a filling breakfast at the Southside Diner down the street from the Lodge. Back at the Lodge William goes to the lounge with the laptop while I unpack and press the box of wedding clothes we had shipped here. As he is wandering through the lobby Kara's dad (Marv) and step-mom (Georgiana) introduce themselves. Later in the day we bump into Kara's mom (Kathy) and step-dad (Delmer). William and I spend some time in the afternoon exploring Whistler Village. The story of how the community started their journey to winning the Olympics in 1960, and were finally awarded the 2010 games is interesting. The Village seems busy to us - we can't imagine what it must have been like during the Olympics with ten times more people.
In the evening the parents go to dinner along with Paul and Kara to celebrate Georgiana's birthday. Fun! We leave our Christchurch hotel at 5 am on Friday. Our ultimate destination is Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, which we should ultimately reach around 5 pm on Friday.... 32 hours later.
In Christchurch we must first return the rental car then take the provided shuttle to the terminal. Since we haven't previously been to the Christchurch airport we allot one hour for that process plus two hours for airport check-in, etc. prior to our 8 am flight. Everything goes very smoothly and we have more than enough time at the airport to have a cup of coffee and cup of tea. It's only a 1 hour 20 minute flight on Air New Zealand to Auckland. It's fun to watch the travelers, most are relaxed Kiwi's. There are few suitcases being brought as carry-on, perhaps partially because you may need to schlep a suitcase up and down external staircases - not all planes get airport jetways. The only people jumping up and getting into lines early for boarding appear to be tourists. And when lines are naturally formed, people are polite. We have an empty seat between us - sweet! We have a 6 hour layover in Auckland. Ugh. But, with the Chase Sapphire Card we have access to the Priority Pass Airline Lounge, so that's the plan! We are hoping that our luggage will be checked through to Vancouver, but we learn that since we are moving from a domestic flight on Air New Zealand to an international flight on United we will need to claim our luggage in Auckland then walk or take the shuttle bus to the International Terminal. When we arrive in Auckland we walk the 10-15 minutes between terminals since it is a nice day. But, there's a glitch in the plan. United will not open the check-in gate until 12:10 pm. We have 2 1/2 to three hours before we can check our bags, go through passport control and settle into the Lounge. Luckily there are a couple of restaurants in the terminal for us to choose from. We have breakfast and use our electronics until check-in is available. At check-in we find out that we are going to have to go through immigration, collect our bags then recheck them before boarding our flight to Vancouver. Ugh. After check-in we make our way to the departures area . We find the Priority Pass Lounge and it is is fine as we wait for our 3:10 pm flight to San Francisco, an 11 hour flight today, faster than normal due to the tailwinds. In fact, we hold on the ground because we would arrive too early - US Immigration doesn't open until 6 am. On the flight we have an empty seat between us - double sweet! Unfortunately we just cat-nap on the plane. Fortunately I saw three movies I have been wanting to watch. We are though all the US immigration/customs/bag recheck and sitting in the United Club Lounge in San Francisco before 7 am. Our flight to Vancouver doesn't leave until 12:20 pm, so we have around five hours to kill, there are no Priority Pass Lounges in this terminal, and we figured this is a perfect time to use the two United Club passes we get with the credit card each year. After a couple of hours we go have a meal at one of the airport restaurants then go back into the United Club. Our flight to Vancouver is only 2 hours 20 minutes. We settle into our seats, they close the cabin door and the seat between us is empty. Triple sweet! After customs and baggage claim in Vancouver we easily find the representative for Whistler Shuttle. 30 minutes later we are in the van and one of the slowest shuttle drivers we have ever encountered is making his way to two Vancouver hotels for more passengers. It takes us almost an hour to leave the city. A picturesque 90 minute ride takes us up to Whistler, but both of us doze on-and-off. 32 hours after leaving our Christchurch hotel we arrive at Nita Lake Lodge. After a quick shower, Paul and Kara's friends John and Tiffany pick us up for lasagna dinner at the condo where they all are staying. We enjoy a nice meal and great conversation, but we begin to fade and John drives us back to the Lodge where we snuggle in for a good night's sleep. We arrive at our Christchurch hotel at 11:30 am. My request for early check-in has been noted and our studio is ready for us. The hotel is located in the central area, right at Cathedral Junction. After putting the bags in our room it is time to explore! We meander down New Regent Street and stop at one of the many cafe's for a cup of coffee. While enjoying the java and the sun, a wizard sits at the table next to William. Not something you see every day. After a brief stop at the Clock Tower we walk to the Cardboard Cathedral (also known as the Transitional Cathedral). After the original neo-Gothic Cathedral was heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake, the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban designed the cathedral similar to the cardboard cathedral he did after the Kobe earthquake. Two years later it was fully completed, consisting of cardboard, wood, steel with a polished concrete floor and polycarbonate roof. Side chapels and offices are shaped from repurposed shipping containers. The architect also designed the cathedral chairs. We learn the story of the Cardboard Cathedral from a volunteer then sit a couple of minutes to take in the space. A block away is 185 Empty Chairs, the monument to the 185 people who died in the quake. Every where we turn there are signs of the earthquake's destruction and the rebuilding. There is an entire shopping mall made from cargo shipping containers, aptly named re-START City Mall. The Christchurch Cathedral looms at the center of the destruction, with it's collapsed tower and cracking throughout the building. The Bridge of Remembrance (built as a memorial originally to WWI) remains standing, seemingly anchoring the reconstructed around it. After an afternoon of sight-seeing we head back to the hotel to do some re-packing for our flight to British Columbia. Then we pick out two restaurants for a last dinner in New Zealand. Because we are early we are able to get a table at our first choice, Twenty Seven Steps. It is located on the second floor, and you guessed it, there are 27 steps to get there. The restaurant is highly rated and we can quickly see why. The food is fabulous and the wait staff exceptional. They have a starter of fresh scallops gently placed on a corn purée. William chooses the grouper special, while I have the incredible lamb chops prepared with a red wine demi sauce. Both of us sigh with extreme satisfaction between bites and conversation. This is the perfect send-off dinner.
Google Maps says it takes 6 hours to drive the 480 kilometers from Queenstown to Christchurch. We know it will take longer plus we want some time to stop along the way. So, we decide to cut our stay in Queenstown short by one day and stay somewhere along the way on Wednesday night. It's cool and clear was we pull out of Queenstown. We retrace some of the route we took coming from Hawea, (including going past the giant fruit sculpture) then branch off to take Highway 8 further north. We are driving through the middle of the South Island on the leeward side of the Southern Alps. The landscape is dry grazing land except where the farmers irrigate. William navigates the curves in the road that takes us up to the summit of Landis Pass. Of course we need to get out, take some photo's and stretch the legs. We begin to get better views of Mount Hood. North of Twizel we realize we are in "Mount Hood" country, with the Mount Hood Visitor Center nearby. Then we take the curve at the end of Lake Pukaki and - oh my - Mount Hood is there behind the most turquoise lake we've ever seen!
The next town is Tekapo, our destination for lunch. The town sits on a Lake Tekapo, also a beautiful body of water, but it does not have the same views of the mountain. We stop for the night in Ashburton. There's a few sights in the town, but nothing too exciting. We decide to rest then walk to a local restaurant for dinner then veg in front of the TV. It starts raining during Monday evening; the wind picks up and the temperatures drop. It's still raining a bit when we awaken. As I drink my morning tea I look out at Lake Wakatipu every few minutes. The landscape looks different almost every time I look. There's some small breaks in the clouds as the sun comes up over the lake. When the clouds/mist move out for a few minutes I realize that snow has lightly dusted the mountain tops. Beautiful! Late morning the rain stops and it becomes partly sunny. It's a cool 11.5C (53F) when we begin our walk down into town. We meander along the wharf and waterfront then pick up the Queenstown Trail along the bay to walk to the Queenstown Gardens. The Gardens are pretty and include a good stand of Giant Sequoia's. We opt for a late lunch at Flame. We order the sampler platter - calamari, BbQ chicken wings, BbQ ribs and Boerewors (South African farmer's sausage) arrive on a huge board. Everything is delicious, and we take some leftovers for a snack later. Mmmmm. On our way home as we get within a block of the Bach the road is blocked. There's a crew moving an entire house. Not something you see every day!
Our first full day in Queenstown starts by watching a nice sunrise over Lake Wakatipu. After lounging about and having a late breakfast we walk 15 minutes downhill to the wharf and check-in early for our noon cruise aboard the TSS Earnslaw. We have about an hour to take photo's and explore the wharf and shops before our boarding. The TSS Earnslaw is a 1912 twin steam screw (TSS) boat which has served the lake for over 100 years. It is proud to say it is the last commercial passenger coal-fired steamship in the Southern Hemisphere. Our 45 minute picturesque trip takes us across the lake to Walter Peak. There's an option to go on a local (tourist) farm tour at Walter Peak Station, us we opt to just do the 45 minute return voyage right away. During our crossings we have the opportunity to see the engine room as well as to enjoy the scenery and have some snacks. As this is a good weather day our next destination is the Skyline Gondola, up the hill from the wharf. The gondola goes up Bob's Peak. When we approach the ticket booth we realize that this is an entire entertainment complex. In addition to gondola ride to the viewing building/cafe there are options to bungee jump, mountain bike, and luge on the mountain top. I know you'll be surprised, but we did not bungee jump. We enjoy the wonderful views of the lake and the mountains and watch the adrenaline junkies. After our gondola ride we stroll through the Queenstown Cemetery. There's some interesting monuments, some from the early 1900's.
Queenstown, our next destination, is about 1 1/2 hours away. We leave Lake Hawea at 10:30 am and can check into out next Bach officially at 4pm. How to fill the time? Wineries and food of course! After going the opposite direction for 15 minutes to the nearest gas station, we plug our first winery into Google Maps. We drive to Māori Point Vineyard only to find a sign out front that the tasting room is closed today. Bummer. No worries, we will see if there is another winery open on our way to the second spot we have picked out. As we pull into the city of Cromwell there are signs for a number of vineyards. Wooing Tree Vineyard shows it is open, so we stop for a tasting. They have six wines all from Pinot Noir grapes. The first is Blondie, a Blanc de Noir. A pressing of Pinot Noir is completed, as is done for champagne, but the wine is fermented dry and without the sparkling wine methods. It's unique and refreshing. I proceed through the tastings ending with their dessert wine, then decide to buy a bottle of the Blondie. Across the way from Wooing Tree Vineyard is Cromwell's signatory giant fruit sculpture. Lol. Another 30 minutes down the road we stop at Gibbston Valley Winery. In the early 1980's, the owner Alan Brady (an immigrant from Ireland) was the first to try planting vines in Central Otago. After a few years he found that Pinot Noir did very well. The 2000 Pinot Noir Reserve won several world-wide competitions. We take the cave tour, which takes us into the space drilled and blasted out of the schist mountain behind the winery. There is a special storage alcove (almost a shrine) for the aging bottles of the 2000. We enjoy tastings of their Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and dessert wine while in the cave. The next stop is Arrowtown and it's Chinese Settlement park. After a late lunch we walk through the small park which includes the story of Chinese immigrants who came to work the goldfields at the tail end of the boom. The story is interesting. The first structure we come to is the single-person community outhouse. It is followed by the small cabins built and inhabited by the single men or very small families. 15-20 minutes later we are driving along Lake Wakatipu and into Queenstown. Our bach for the next three nights is a three bedroom / four bath home built up a hill behind other homes. Level 1 is the garage and clothes dryer. The bedrooms are on level 2 and level 3 is the kitchen/dining/living room. As we walk up to the top level we see an incredible view of the lake. Now we understand why the home was built this way. A great place to enjoy Queenstown.
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AuthorHi. I'm Anne. I wander around the world with William. Enjoy Some of our Favorite Links below
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