Queenstown--day by day

Well--we are back in Auckland after 3 great days in Queenstown and 1 lovely day in a bus (see previous post if you have no idea what that means). Fortunately our trip back was not nearly as eventful as our trip there (despite all of the pessimism from Josh, my mom, and I--we were so certain that another disaster was imminent). Rather than give you one long download of our goings on--I figured I'd break it up by day and post it over the next couple of days (mainly because I'm too lazy to write it all in one sitting, but also because I figured you could only handle my ramblings in smaller doses). So here I go with day 1!


The start of day 1--Liam ready to go in front of our apartment!


We had two big activities on our first day there--a trip on the Queenstown gondola and a boat ride over to Walter Peak Farm. The gondola basically takes you up the side of a very large hill (don't think it quite meets mountain standards) and from the top you have great views of queenstown and the lake it sits on (not to mention the beauty of the surrounding mountains). They also launch a few paragliders from up there and there is a bungee jump so if you get lucky you might see some crazy person attempting that (Queenstown is the home of bungee jumping and considers itself-with reason--to be the adventure capital of the world). While we did not attempt either of the above while at the top--we did see some great views and got to do the "luge". The best part about the luge was that Liam could ride as well and he absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, we don't have a ton of closeup pics to see his happiness so you will have to take my word for it.



View from the top



Liam and Josh at the top


Liam and Josh headed up for the first luge run (the trip up made mommy aka me very nervous for my little boy!)


Liam and daddy on the luge


Mommy and the "helmet" aka Liam on the luge


Even "Mimi" took part!


Heading back down in the gondola



After the luge we had a great lunch in town at a pizza place called Winnie's. Great food, great atmosphere, and great fireplace (did I mention we were freezing our patooties off?) What more could you ask for?


Lunch at Winnies

After our tummy's were full--we jumped a boat to Walter Peak Farms which may have been the highlight of Liam's trip to Queenstown. Chasing after baby lambs? Feeding sheep that were bigger than him and thus constantly knocking him over? Chasing sheep dogs? It was a dream come true. The visit to the farm involved all of those things. They really did just let us loose with the sheep (sheep have no top teeth thus biting isn't a concern--apparently due to their long time vegetarian status =)) Plus Liam got to feed some really cool longhaired Scottish cows (they have a much better name than that, but I can't remember) and many other animals. We also saw a cool sheep dog demo and got to watch them shear a sheep. Plus we got to take some time out for a "cuppa" tea and some great treats to go along with it. A great way to kick off our mini-vacay! Unfortunately, my camera battery died midway through our visit to the farm. My mom got some good pics but she left her camera cord at home so I may not be able to share those until much later!


On the boat ride to the farm




Feeding the deer


Feeding the "furry cows"


Up close and personal


After all that excitement, Liam was out for the count on the boat ride back (as were we). Dinner was steaks on the grill back at our apartment. Our place was just off the courtyard and included some gas grills that guests could use, so you know we put them to use!


I'll write more tomorrow to tell you about our other adventures in queenstown. I'll also make sure to add some pics of the real day 1-the AWESOME bus ride from Christchurch!