We had heavy rain last night and woke to a grey day with all the mountains shrouded in clouds and mist again. As we drove we kept getting tantalising glimpses through the clouds. We passed through a tiny ex-mining village, Cardrona, with a ‘heritage’ wooden church with stained glass windows. It seems so incongruous but it is how it is here!
We drove through softly rounded grassy hills until we got closer to Arrowtown where we could see more of the craggy peaks of the Alps and snow covered mountains with their glaciers. Here there were lots of wild lupins along the roadside, verbascum of both types, yarrow and Elderberry, Rowan and Hawthorn full of berries. A softer landscape but still with precipitous twists and turns. Arrowtown is a very cultured town as opposed to brash Queentown. It has lovely galleries, up market shops and artisan bakeries. It also has an unusual cinema and we booked to see ‘The King’s Speech’ tomorrow night.
Queenstown is more commercial with the usual suspects, MacDonalds, Kentucky fried chicken etc, but its situation is idyllic on the edge of huge Lake Wakatipu and it does also boast a ‘Smiggles’ the stationery shop. We drove along the lake to Glenorchy and saw a paraglider against the clouds in front of the mountains…Wow, what a way to see them. I had a lovely but cold swim in the lake of course, before returning for a late dinner and a quiet night in blogging. Photos here
There is a story about why the lake rises and falls to do with a giant and a girl? apparently the lake is shaped like a giant! x
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