I Think You Were Right About That

Milford Sound / Queenstown Updates to follow after a few musings I've had on this trip...

So most of you who know me, know that I can be slightly competitive (I've even made New Year's resolutions about it). And I think I have come a long way since my tree climbing days (Carp), and betting on anything just to prove my point, some people (Dix) may still disagree. Well, it's a good thing I've been working on this because a common statement out of my mouth to Bubba has been "I think you were right about that" - not that surprising since she lives here, but we also haven't exactly been in her home city either. I might need to start keeping track but I'd say we're well over 20 by now. So while that has been a step in the right direction of reigning in my competitive nature, I've also decided to try and out-do one of EB's previous visitors Steezy who made it to 21 wineries on her trip. Challenge Accepted! - current winery count 12 and we haven't even made it to the Marlborough region yet!

Other NZed (yes, that's how they pronounce their Z's) Musings
Foodie Thoughts: NZ food is not that much different than American food so I haven't tested my palette too much yet. But I think I've eaten at least 4 meals with lamb in it! So here's a summary of some local food I've tried that is not in the States -

• Whitebait (small fish that look like worms but very tasty served like calamari)
• Feijoa (tart fruit that looks kind of like a kiwi, that we also sampled as a fruit wine at Purangi Winery)
• Kumara (cross between a potato and a sweet potatoes

Kiwis also seem to call a few things by alternate names like capsicum (bell peppers) and rocket (arugula), as well as bubbles (champagne), prawns (shrimp) and a few others too. Still on the list to try while I'm here - Fish & Chips (a local staple), Meat or Savory Pies (still something EB hasn't gotten on board with), and if we're lucky some fresh Crayfish (looks like lobster but they can't tell you why they're different). Tonight's dinner will be fresh green-lipped mussels that we're cooking ourselves.

Wildlife Count so far: EB also informed me that there are no natural predators on NZ other than humans.

• Sheep, sheep and more sheep (40M sheep compared to 4M people)
• Cows / Deer (actual deer farms which I had never seen) Grass-fed meat is delicious!
• Kea - large, aggressive parrots (we actually stayed in the car to avoid them - they even eat the rubber on your cars)
• Sandflies - these were greatly exaggerated as to how bad they would be on the Sound and S. Island
• Fur Seals - Milford Sound offered an up close and personal view
• Penguins - I had been wanting to see these in the wild since I arrived and I was told it was pretty rare, but luck held out and we spotted 2 of them in the Sound as well!
• Still no Dolphins - Missed the "Trifecta" in the Sound, but I'm holding out hope for Abel Tasman
• Still on the list - Kiwi Birds are also pretty hard to find, and they're nocturnal, so we're actually going to a bird sanctuary in Wellington to spot this national icon
• And apparently NZ doesn't have turtles (sea turtles don't count)

Winery Updates (Prior Count 5 / Current Count 12) - Central Otago Valley is well known for their Pinot Noirs/Blancs, Rose`s, Rieslings, and Pinot Gris. As much as I don't enjoy the Rieslings I have had in the States ( I know you disagree LoLo), I was pleasantly surprised as they are not very fruity here. The Pinot Noirs have a great fullness to them that I sometimes find missing in the States and I typically prefer a different varietal of wine but have been truly enjoying many of them the past few days. EB's favorite has definitely been the Rose`.

• Chard Winery
• Amisfield Winery (which we visited twice, but I only counted once in fairness of the competition)
• Brennan Winery (also included a great Pinot Grigio)
• Peregrine Winery
• Waitiri Creek
• Gibbston Valley Winery (also had a Cheesery next door..."Cheeeeeeeese"
• Winehouse & Kitchen (called a Cellar Door where they actually sell multiple wine labels of surrounding vineyards who don't have their own tasting rooms - so we tasted about 4 different wine makers at this winery, including a rare NZ Tempranillo - once is currently a favorite varietal of mine)

1st Winery right off the plane

Chard Winery

Yes, we have sampled some awesome cheeses and yes, I am a big cheeseball!

Vineyard frolicking!

Milford Sound Update: So we decided to call our 2nd audible of the trip as we had originally planned to head out to Doubtful Sound, a closer drive but longer/more expensive day on the water. This might have been the best decision we made as the drive to Milford takes about 5 hours, but you are treated to some of the most "Oh WOW" moments you have ever seen! We also managed to get in some quality pictures of our attempts to frolick with the sheep - although it took a few takes. Everywhere you look are fantastic waterfalls and snowcapped peaks and we had a crystal clear sunny day for the drive! We arrived at the Lodge along one of the rivers and then headed down to the only pub in town. Later that night, we attempted to go on a little tramp (hike) to see some glowworms, another local phenomenon and while we saw saw at the beginning we quickly realized it's not that easy to walk around in the woods in the dark (don't worry Mom - we were only out there about 10 minutes). The next day on the Sound was only slightly overcast so we had some sun amidst the colder winds as we headed out to the Tasman Sea. There is an overwhelming feeling of peacefulness and awesome cliffs/waterfalls, and it's humbling to think of the remoteness and how few people in the world have actually seen this wonder.

Trying to frolick with sheep - take 6

Professional photographers...

An "Oh Wow" Moment

Enjoying a brisk morning on Milford Sound

Queenstown Update: Aside from all our wine tasting, we did manage to have a few other experiences in Queenstown. Unfortunately, we had planned to go paragliding over the city but the weather and the winds did not cooperate. Instead we headed up the Gondola to test our skills on the Luge (also seen in the Real World / Road Rules challenge). Elizabeth was under the mistaken impression that she was going to beat me, and as usual that didn't happen! We also sampled the Fergburger on our 1st day in town. We made some friends in our backpackers, who also happened to be the local DJ and pizza maker at some local bars - so we had some VIP benefits! On our mini-bar crawl that night we went , we headed back to EB's favorite bar, Barmuda and the awesome fireplace, yes it's summer here but the nights in the South Island got pretty chilly. We also went by BarUp for some Money Shots and attempted to go to Surreal but wisely decided to call it a night. The next night included Barmuda again where we made friends with some older gentlemen on a construction conference and then headed over to Winnie's for a a drink only to be followed by an awesome dance party, which continued at Buffalo. Summary of the nights out in Queenstown -

• Free Drinks - Check
• NZ Construction Job Offer - Check
• Spontaneous Dance Party on all raised surfaces in the bar to Dynamite
• EB getting cut off for having a "wandering eye"

Fergburger - being enjoyed by a former Vegetarian

Enjoying the fire at Barmuda

Top of the Gondola - Bob's Peak

Getting Ready to Luge

Next blog update - Taupo / Tongariro White Water Rafting / Tongariro Alpine Crossing