After putting it off for days, we finally went wine tasting today.  Many wineries dot the road to Queenstown.  Getting there requires going through the Kawarau Gorge, an intense driving experience.  Thousand foot mountains rise feet from the road bed.  The two lane road curves sharply, dodging them by inches.    

The river is home to many adventure tourist activities, including kayaking, jet boating, and bungee jumping.  Note the color.  Miners used to extract gold from the river, and huts and faux-villages for tourists are still in the area.  Hydro-power also provides electricity at the Roaring Meg Hydro Scheme.  Supposedly it’s named after a particularly well known barmaid who lived in the area during the gold rush. 

We visited several wineries in the Gibbston Valley.  The region is quiet arid and surrounded by an imposing landscape.  The road in winter stays frozen over as the low sun does not rise high enough.  The wineries vary greatly in charm.  Some are large and overrun with tourists.  Others are intimate and welcoming.  Regardless it’s expensive.  There are few sales to be had because I imagine the price contains a hefty kickback fee for the tour operators, of which were are many.  Most originate from Queenstown.  The wine, however, was quite exquisite.  These people know how to make a Pinot Noir.  

We ate a quiet lunch at Mt. Difficulty, a large operation in the area, on the terrace.  The hot sun filtered down through netting which created a pleasant shade, and a breeze complimented our bucolic setting.  

In the last pictures you see a row of tall pines.  These high “fences” line property boundaries all over the area.  Famers grow them specifically to act as shelters to protect livestock or crops from New Zealand weather.  They grow tall, probably 200’ or 300’ and are trimmed by this enormous cutter equally as tall with three circular saw blades.  

Tonight is our last night in Wanaka.  We will leave the company of our friends and their family and head north to Mt. Cook tomorrow.  It’s about a three hour drive.  Wanaka is an interesting resort town.  At once modern and old, it was founded during the gold rush days but built anew with tourist dollars.  Both Queenstown and Wanaka are located in the Otago District.  The name (some say) in Maori means “isolated village.”  In fact the townships here are far apart with a lot of emptiness in-between.  

It’s hard to know how to pay back our host family for housing and feeding us.  Nothing can fully express our gratitude for all they’ve done.  Our meals have been exquisite, the wine and beer free flowing, and their company grand.  All these people have just such generous spirits, you hate to leave such lovely people.  It’s been a real honor to be allowed access and participate in their traditions.  

Wanaka and this house are special places I will never forget.

*I am not sure boysenberry is real.