New Zealand - Arrowtown

On the 2nd of January, we headed out of Queenstown a short drive to Arrowtown, an old mining village.  A wonderful quaint little town.  The first thing we did was to take a hike to let us all get some energy out.  The weather was nice and cool, with no rain.  We headed into the hills over Arrowtown to enjoy the scenery.

Folks were mining for gold along the small river that ran below the hiking path.

There were also four wheel drive vehicles driving through the rivers enjoying the rough wilderness.  I was jealous, and wish I could have been there with my Jeep.

The streets of Arrowtown.  Rustic shops, restaurants, museums, etc.  Really a fun day.

The sun came out for our lunch ... what a pleasant surprise for us.

More sights from around Arrowtown.

Local museum, with lots of hands-on, old world stuff.

New Zealand - Queenstown

We finally made it to Queenstown, which is our final destination in New Zealand.  We are tired, but still ready for some more New Zealand, if only it would stop raining.  Well, it didn't, but we still enjoyed our selves.

Out of our hotel window.  Queenstown is surrounded by large hills / mountains.

A wonderful walk from our hotel down to the downtown area.

Kristin bought one of these pieces of pottery.

The famous New Zealand Kiwi ... although I don't believe they actually get that big.

We didn't actually visit the birdlife park, as it was WAY TO EXPENSIVE.  But, the care and entrance was cool.

New Zealand - Milford Sound

On New Year's Day, we headed for Milford Sound, one of the famous tourist destinations in New Zealand.  The size and grandeur of this place was evident, however, it was very rainy and cloudy for our entire trip.  Oh well.  We left Te Anua fairly early that morning for our several hour drive into Milford Sound.  There was nothing between these two places, and Milford Sound is nothing more than a wharf where the tourist boats leave from.

On the way, we encountered the Kea.  A friendly bird that like to sit on the car while we waited for the lights at the one lane tunnels through the mountains. Of course, there were also the signs not to feed them.

A picture of the beginning of the tunnel through the mountain.

We made it to Milford Sound.  Family picture.  Notice the water drops, one of which found its way onto my face.

The girls enduring another boat ride.  By this point, because of all the rain, the boat rides weren't so exciting anymore.

Trying to get some pictures without getting too wet.  Didn't work that well.

Anna and the waterfall.

Our boat, the Milford Wanderer.

The scenic vistas of Milford Sound.  Complete with clouds and rain.

The Four Sisters Waterfalls, made more impressive by all the rain.  Many of the waterfalls in the Milford Sound area are more than twice the height of Niagara Falls.  However, because these falls are nestled into the mountains that are considerably bigger than they are, you can't appreciate the size of them.

Some brave kayakers on a very cold and rainy day.

The boat in the lower corner is very similar to the boat we were on, carrying hundreds of people.  Compare that with the size of the waterfall.  Pretty amazing.

More fur seals.