Queenstown

As we left for Queenstown we paused at the Te Anau Wildlife Centre - which is free to enter and which has several native bird species that you can see.  I really liked the parrots. They had several Kakas, and one Kea which had been raised there and couldn't be put back into the wild.  We also saw a Morpork - which is a small owl. 

Carrying on,  we stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe which was much better than we had expected and had a really nice lunch. 

Reaching Queenstown we chose to stay at the  Kiwi Lakeview Holiday Park as it was close to the centre.  We parked up and then walked to the gondola,  which was five minutes away.  When I had recovered from the shock of what it cost,  we got aboard and ascended the Hill.  Ok -the view was worth the money.  We spent time on the viewing platform then bought some drinks and sat in the sun. Then we went into the restaurant and had some more drinks and a 'Barmans Platter' of cold meats and cheeses with warm bread. It was quite substantial,  and filled us up. 

As the light faded we boarded the gondola once more for the descent,  then spent an hour or two wandering around the town feeling distinctly underdressed - dresses seemed to be the order of the day for the ladies,  and smart casual for the men.  Don't know why.  Lost count of the number of bars and eating places.  Very busy.  We did some souvenir shopping,  then walked back to the site in the dark,  with the help of Google maps.