We decided to tackle Queenstown Hill after breakfast.  Two hours and 1300 feet later, I was cursing the New Zealand penchant for snarky understatement.  Where I come from hills barely raise your heart rate.  This was a two and a half hour slog straight up.  Even more maddening were the Kiwis who passed us barely breathing heavy.  Clearly we found the reason why everyone here is beautiful … cardio. Still, the view was beautiful.  

Also at the top, you got treated to an art.  

In the afternoon we tackled some vineyards.  New Zealand wines from this district, Otago, might be my favorites in the world.  The wine possesses a diverse, unique crispness and clarity of taste that evokes the sky-blue lakes.  I’m guessing here but I suspect rain and snow melt wash all sorts of tasty minerals and flavors down from the mountains above.  These rocks have had a full life to date despite their youthful age, only about 5 million years old.  Some originated on the bottom of ancient seas, while others are the result of volcanic processes.  Others still belonged to Gondwana, a massive super-continent that included many land masses in the Southern Hemisphere today.

I suspect the vines pick up these bits and pieces of chemistry to create a myriad of differing flavors and textures, even though many of the vineyards are next-door to each other and use similar grape species.  The whites are remarkably sophisticated, but the reds possess a diversity unlike any other region I’m familiar with.  Admittedly, I am not familiar with many wine making regions.  

We ended up buying two cases of wine and shipped them home.  (Many of you will be getting a bottle as gifts.)  Below is one of the vineyards, Chard Farms. 

It’s not just the soil, though.  The climate here is considered an oceanic climate.  This means cool summers (today’s high was in the 70s) and cool, but not cold, winters. It doesn’t get much below freezing here.  Also, the temperature range stays fairly narrow, i.e., not too many extreme weather days.  Lastly, Queenstown falls in the rain shadow of The Southern Alps.  I find it very dry here. 

After our B&B’s Happy Hour, where all the guests congregate over free wine and tell their stories, RBD and I headed to Ferg Burger.  Apparently this dinky shop has an international reputation.  Average wait time to place an order is twenty minutes, and after that add another twenty-five for them to make it.  Twenty-four hours a day a whose who of international travelers congregates outside waiting to taste the ambrosia of the (burger) Gods.  RBD really wanted to go.  

It was tasty, but between us I think Five Guys is just as good without a 50 minute wait.  Also, it’s considerably closer. 

The sun has barely set and the clock strikes 10.  Our time in Queenstown has concluded.  Tomorrow we travel to Manapouri, south of here, to board a boat.  This boat will take us to a bus.  This bus will take us to another boat, which we’ll spend the night on while touring The Doubtful Sound.  We’ll be in some of the most remote parts of New Zealand and world.

I doubt I’ll get an email out to you tomorrow.  I’ll write it and send it when I can.