Alexandra to Manapouri

Today was the first driving day that I wasn't following a little red Miata. We are on our own for the next few days as my sister and brother-in-law went their own way. They have been to this area before.

We started by stopping by the information center in Alexandra to take a picture of a Kiwi. I doubt very much that I will see a live one where I can take a picture. We did see them live in New Zealand, but it was in a dark room with only dim red lighting. Not conducive for pictures. So I am incuding one that was on display at the information center mesuem.

We drove generally West to Queenstown and then south and west to Manapouri. The terrain changed as we proceeded west. We drove through a beautiful gorge and by the time we got to Queenstown, we were reminded of "middle earth" as seen on the Lord of the Rings. Of course Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, so it should have looked familiar.






We also stopped at one Winery/Cheesery. We did not try the wines, but the cheeses were really good and purchased some to eat with our loaf of bread.

South of Queenstown we stopped at Kingston to look at the old railroad that is there. It used to run tour steam trains, but went bankrupt a few years ago and now is just a display in the town. It looks like it could have been a fun ride, so we were sorry it isn't running anymore.

From Kingston we drove south to Lumsden and west to Manapouri via Mossburn. (We had lunch in Lunsden at a "Bafe".....part bakery and part cafe. Katie asked for crisps (chips) but was reminded that they were a bakery and only did bread. The bread there was escellent. This area is rolling hills and is mainly cattle, sheep, and deer farms (they raise deer for the venison that is a common menu item here).

We had nice driving conditions until west of Mossburn when it started to rain. Unfortunately that is the forecast for the next few days. Manapouri Lake looks just lovely, even in the rain. There are mountains on the far side that had clouds sitting between the peaks. We are looking forward to exploring this area for the next couple of days.

More as we continue to explore and enjoy this beautiful country.