We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent the rest of the day checking out the town. It's beautiful, with a feeling very similar to Banff. We took a trip up the Gondola and Georgie had her dinner at the top with a very scenic view. We witnessed our first bungy jumpers and had a couple of paragliders fly over our heads.
The following day we were off to Milford Sound. Instead of the 5hr bus ride, we opted for the scenic flight there and back. Not sure if Georgia (more specifically us) could have coped with the bus, but the flight turned out to be worth every penny (and hours saved). It was a bit nerve-racking to start - our pilot couldn't have been older than 19 or 20 years old. We avoided all conversation about how long he's been flying, but he was very professional and got us there and back in one piece. Turns out his second job is at the cinema in town! We climbed into our 4 seater Cessna (complete with ashtray in the back) and took off for the 30 minute flight over the spectacular mountain ranges. We had a great cruise at Milford Sound - with the magnificent mountains flanking the water, and powerful waterfalls pounding the surface. We had a pod of dolphins cruise with the bow of the boat, and got up close and personal with the native seals.
After a great family outing, we opted for separate adventures the following day. Scott went heli-biking and had an incredible time. The helicopter dropped the group off at the top of a peak between Queenstown and Wanaka and they had a 18km, 1.5 hour trip down. He made it down in one piece, having had only one spill and a run-in with a rose bush. Next time, he'll bring more than just a t-shirt and board shorts. Georgie and I were a little less adventurous (for obvious reasons). Nevertheless, we had a great day. We booked a trip on the steamship to go to a sheep station in the country. It was incredibly beautiful at the station/farm, and Georgie got to pet sheep, lambs, herding dogs/puppies, red deer, highland cows, alpaca, and... more sheep. We watched a sheep shearing demonstration and the dogs herding in the countryside. She loved every minute.
On our last day, we rented a car and visited Cardrona (there is an amazing little hotel here), Wanaka, Arrowtown (where Georgie had a long dip in a very cold mountain stream) and a couple of wineries along the way. We enjoyed more fantastic views everywhere we looked. Our final stop was at the original bungy jump in the world, where AJ Hackett and Henry Van Asch decided it would be a good idea to jump off a bridge with an elastic band tied to your legs...we didn't take the plunge but it was fun to watch a few other brave souls do it.
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