Becky & Charlie arrived on Friday, April 19th...which honestly feels like ages ago! We met them at the Auckland airport early that morning and got to hang in the Koru Lounge for a bit. We hopped on the plane to Queenstown (biggest domestic plane with the smallest amount of leg room!) and arrived there in time for lunch. We headed straight into downtown and had to take them to Fergburger for lunch. We ordered less food than last time and still had too much! But it was wonderful and down right hot sitting outside--who would've guessed?!
Afterwards we headed about 20 minutes outside of town to Arrowtown where our resort was. We stayed at a beautiful place called Millbrook where some family friends let us use their 2-bedroom condo which was very 'flash'--to use a kiwi phrase. It really felt like fall out there being set in between all of the mountains with the trees is various shades of burnt orange and mustard yellow.
Becky decided she wanted to get settled and relax a bit so Drew & I took Charlie back downtown to take the gondola and go luge-ing. Unfortunately, that overly warm weather from lunch did not stick around because it was freezing cold by the time we got to the top of the mountain and it only got colder from then on! But the boys seemed to have fun...
We stopped at the store to get things for breakfast and then headed back to the resort to relax. We booked an early dinner at the Japanese restaurant on the property and the food was delicious. That night we all tried to stay awake as long as possible, but to no avail. I think we were all asleep by 8:30 :)
Saturday we woke up in hopes of getting to take our booked helicopter tour to Milford Sound, but the weather had gotten worse so we had to cancel. Instead, we bundled up and headed into the quaint little village of Arrowtown to walk through the shops.
Afterwards, we went to check out the Amisfield Winery where we also wanted to have lunch, but they had two private parties and no space for us. We did enjoy a lovely wine tasting there and then drove out to another winery to have lunch. The restaurant looked like a tiny little old English pub and the food was good enough ;)
We relaxed at the condo that afternoon and then headed to dinner at the Millhouse--which was the steak house on the property. That was Becky & Charlie's first experience in New Zealand where the waitress asked if we wanted bread but didn't mention that it cost $15--no complimentary bread for the kiwis! Again, the food was absolutely wonderful and the only thing wrong with the evening was the blustery wind and sideways rain on the walk to and from the condo.
Sunday morning we, again, checked to see if we could do our helicopter tour, but the pilot said he was still weary to head out due to weather. Total bummer! Instead, we headed up the very windy road to a town called Wanaka to go to a shooting range. The scenery the whole way there was gorgeous, but the journey up and down the mountains and around sharp curves would have been easier if we weren't constantly behind a bike race.
The gun range was actually lots of fun--we all tried shooting clays first, but Becky decided it wasn't for her. We each got 20 clays and Drew and I tied with 4 each--I was ok with that since it was my first time out and Drew was just glad that I didn't beat him.
After that we all tried shooting a .22 rifle and that was way more fun! The guy warned us that women tend to do better than men at that particular exercise because we're more patient--I think he was right, but judge for yourself...
We wish the weather had been better in Queenstown because I'm sure the helicopter tour would have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but we still had a wonderful time!
The rest of their visit here requires a whole second post, so that will be following soon!
Cheers,
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