Travel Day to the Otago Region

We took off the next day, retracing our steps to drive on to our next destination.  A few kilometers down the road we stopped at Mirror Lakes.

The lakes are more like small ponds cut off from the main channel of Eglington River.

There were New Zealand scaup in the ponds.

The elevated walkways leading to the ponds passed through beech forest

with the usual forest birds, including this tui showing off his fancy feathered neckpiece.

Bird of the Day!

We saw a Kea, again not harassing anyone in the parking lot, but flying overhead.

We also saw this orchid growing on a branch. It looked like the same orchid our kiwi  hunting guide on Stewart Island plucked to let us smell.

It was a very popular short stop for tour busses on their way to Milford Sound.

I always like a bit of well-designed tourist infrastructure:

Fern shaped benches

We continued on our way, stopping to take a picture of Red Tussock Conservation Area.  This is what the drier parts of New Zealand looked like before it was all coverted to sheep and cattle farms.

Red Tussock Conservation Area

We passed a few red deer (close relative of elk) farms so when we stopped for lunch at the Bracken Hall cafe

I had to have a venison pie.  These were the best pies we ate in New Zealand with more meat than gravy, and they were indeed made from locally grown ingredients.

Leo's Thai chicken pie was also excellent.

I have to say it wasn't until the afternoon that we found a public garbage can to get rid of our trash from two day's of camping. New Zealand Conservation campgrounds do not provide garbage cans and even the gas station we stopped at had a narrow opening to prevent you from depositing anything bigger than a pop can.

We drove on toward Queenstown, stopping along Wakatipu 

several times to enjoy the views and

take the requisite selfie.

We didn't stop in Queenstown.  The main roundabout into town was under construction and was a major traffic jam not improved by the gas station we stopped at having its entrance directly onto the roundabout.  

The Otago region east of Queenstown is the driest part of the South Island and it reminded us of the Kamloops area or the Okanagan with dry scrubby slopes and many vineyards.  

We drove by the original bungy jumping bridge; its in a spectacular location in the Kawarau gorge.  It's also a location spot for the Lord of the Rings. 

We stopped at Lowburn Waterpark on Lake Dunstan near Cromwell.  

Okanagan South

 This photo makes it look like we had it all to ourselves; in fact it was packed with locals for the weekend.  It was free but a municipal employee came by and checked every vehicle to make sure they were certified as self contained (fixed toilet).

It was a hot afternoon, we were grateful for our tree shade. Leo went for a run and then a swim.  Leo also chatted with a visiting Californian who had actually run into a nuisance Kea that was going after his windshield wipers.  

Fun fact:  New Zealand actor Sam Neill owns a vineyard nearby and he was just recently in the news protesting a proposed goldmine in the region.