April 9, 2011
Our day began with a steamboat ride across Lake Wakatipu on a 1902 vintage and restored ship. Our 30 minute trip to Walter Peak, a sheep station was a great way to see more of the beautiful town of Queenstown and all the sites at the base of the Remarkable Mountains. At the sheep station, we were able to feed some merino sheep, watch a Border Collie work the sheep, and sympathize with the sheep being shorn in front of the crowd.
After tea (coffee too) and cakes on the veranda, we saw some deer, alpacas and a couple of Scottish long-haired cows. This area is known for their merino wool and there are large deer farms. The deer are farmed for meat going to Europe, as well as the velvet from their antlers, going to Asia. NZ is also overrun with a bush tailed possum. The cute little brown possum is hunted and its fur is mixed with merino wool for very soft and very expensive sweaters, hats and gloves. Loved the feel of it and even if we had been headed into winter rather than summer, the $300+ price tags would have kept us from purchasing.
After our visit to the station, we took a gondola ride up the mountain for spectacular views of the lake and surrounding Remarkable Mountain range. Even though we are just starting fall here, there is snow on some of the peaks. This area has two ski areas. While June to September is the key ski season, the town itself only receives a couple of snowfalls each year – so it is the only place in the world where you can ski in the morning and play golf in the afternoon. While on top we sampled some local beer and food whilst we watched people bungee jump, parafly, and luge. The gondolas were also equipped with bike racks and many mountain bikers take the gondola up and bike down.
We found a pub for a couple of beers and a little dinner, before heading back to our hotel.
DeeDee’s fun fact…When sheep’s teeth wear down and they can no longer eat they are sent to mutton heaven.
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