[Stef] Today was a short day. We were in Queenstown for the morning, and then we flew to Auckland. We got up and cleaned up, packed our bags and set out in the campervan to shop around Queenstown. We had trouble finding parking so we parked a bit away from the shopping section of town at a park on Lake Wakatipu. It was really sunny and comfortable out and we saw some of the biggest ducks ever hanging out on the lake! We shopped just a few of the main sections of town. We were lucky enough to find a few small gifts and also a few things of our own. I got a cardigan sweater made of a mixture of lamb and possum wool. It’s so soft! I can’t wait to get back to the USA to wear it. Much too warm here and Australia will be even hotter! I bought Scott a tee-shirt and some other little souvenirs. Queenstown is probably Scott’s favorite city here and so it was nice that we had some time to just walk and explore. We had to get back to the camper to have lunch before returning the van and getting our flight, so we strolled the lake again and made it back to the park. Scott finished up any packing and cleaned up the campervan a bit. I cooked some vegetable beef soup and toasted cheeses and set up our picnic. I don’t think I have ever cooked in a parking lot before, but it’s so normal to see here, so no one even noticed.
After lunch we finished up any last minute errands and went to the airport. We returned the campervan and got set up in a little café in the terminal. We wrote out some postcards and had a cup of coffee and a coke. We were about to go to our gate when Scott got my attention. Not far away from us was a guy who gave one of the more memorable performances at Karaoke night in Te Anau! We cracked up at that coincidence! Of course, we cracked up even more when he boarded the plan after us! I guess that’s what happens when you are in such a small country!
We had a good flight. When we got to Auckland, we called for our airport shuttle. We were able to crack up even more when we pulled into our hotel. We booked it because it was listed close to the airport. On the top of the hotel they have a giant kiwi bird! It must have been at least 10 feet tall! The hotel was partially a hostel as well and so there were a lot of backpackers there. Also, there was what seemed to be a rugby team because these huge guys were walked around and making lots of noise. We didn’t mind so much because one of them offered to carry my huge suitcase up the stairs! (No elevators).
We repacked for our early morning flight to Sydney and did our laundry. We fell asleep to the sound of the rugby team slamming doors and our TV on to cover it up. No complaints though, New Zealand is an AMAZING place. New Zealand is a country rich with adventure. Often on the trip we said this is a playground for everyone. Even if you don’t like to hike, there are plenty of other things to do. Sightseeing alone is a great experience. Watching the Lord of the Rings movies you get a feel for the great scenery, but even that great cinematography doesn’t do it justice.
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