Today we have a traveling day. We arose early and had our dose of breakfast, coffee and vitamins. We finished last minute packing and headed for the tiny Hyundai Compact with our luggage; it was like stuffing 10 pounds into a 5 pound sack, but we managed! Ron has been our designated driver these past few days and he was glad that this was his last day of driving! Driving on the left side of the road takes a lot of concentration, not to mention all FOUR of us! We joked about sightseeing with a dyslexic driver, a blind navigator and two hysterical women in the back seat, as we made our way about!
We left Rotorua this morning about 10:30. Our twin engine prop-driven Air NZ craft was about 20 minutes late taking off because of heavy ground fog in Wellington, where we will switch planes, bound for Queenstown. The longer we waited, the longer the delay, the more Debby and Nancy shopped in the airport gift shop! Ron and I would have bought handcuffs or manacles and tied the girls to their chairs but we couldn't find any! We were grateful when the Wellington fog lifted enough for us board the plane!
The hour long flight to Wellington was uneventful.....THANK GOODNESS!! Flying over the NZ countryside was fun. Looking down on the farmlands and mountains; seeing steam rising into the sky from volcanic fissures was interesting. The crops seemed to be planted as near to the geothermal vents as possible. What I could see from the air was probably nothing to what could be seen from the ground. I guess this thermal activity makes one understand why NZ is referred to as "The Shaky Isles"!
We still made our connecting flight in Wellington. It was delayed also due to the fog. The 90 minute flight to Queenstown was mostly above cloud cover. We were originally scheduled to meet our Australian friends in Queenstown and rent a vehicle for the week. They had to cancel due to Jan's brother's bad health. She felt like she was needed to be closer to him during his battle for his life. We completely understand and would probably do the same if it was us! We aren't sure what we will do now regarding us to getting to Wanaka from Queenstown. Guess we will figure that out after we get there. Right now, I've got to focus on FLYING!!!
UPDATE:
We had a good flight to Queenstown. After picking up our luggage, we checked on car rentals, road conditions, shuttles, taxis and bus transportation to Wanaka. We opted for the $35/ea. bus transport. In about 15 minutes we were onboard and heading into the mountains.
Beautiful country arounds here! Our Worldmark Resort is about 2 Km from downtown. It sets on the shore of a beautiful lake; mountains all around. Our second story two bedroom condo has a beautiful view of the pool and the mountains. I think we're going to like it here!
It's ALL good!
No comments:
Post a Comment