Queenstown for (octogenarian) Beginners: A Farewell to Travel.

[Flyfrequently]

I am writing this Trip Report for me (and my family),

Feel free to tag along for what will surely be a slow-paced and (I hope) predictable holiday.

But more than anything I want it to be an experience my mother will love.

She deserves it.

You have just brought a tear to my eye @Human , am so on board with you both on this one

 

[Human]

You have just brought a tear to my eye @Human , am so on board with you both on this one

Thank you so much!

This is the last full day of our trip and it has been everything I had hoped for. In fact, my mother and I were just walking back from having a coffee, cake and ice cream, and she announced:

"I like this place. And it's only a two and a half hour flight from Sydney. They all speak English here, they drive on the side of the road I'm used to, and the money is pretty good. Maybe in a year or two if I feel like a holiday I can come back on my own."!!!

I didn't even mention that she doesn't need a power plug adaptor either....

 

[Human]

Milford Sound was every bit as spectacular and amazing as I remember it. During the two-hour cruise up the Sound to the Tasman Sea and back, at times the sun threatened to peek through…




At other times it rained quite heavily…




We saw cascades and waterfalls (and learned that the two are different)…





Snow-peaked hills and waterlogged valleys…



The occasional wildlife inhabitant…


While being treated to very good commentary from our guide for the boat trip, Brooke. I loved it and my mother loved it. We didn’t spend the whole cruise together – she would duck inside while it started to rain, and I did check on her periodically, but the thought of spending precious time at Milford Sound indoors did not enter my mind. Why would I possibly want to miss any part of this? I was well protected in my Mountain Warehouse jacket that I’d bought for my USA trip, and just soaking everything in. Literally and metaphorically. I felt so blessed to be there.

 

[Human]

The ship docked at 3:30pm and we were hurried back onto our bus to try to beat the weather. I did struggle a bit with this final leg: 10 hours on a bus is a long time! But the views on the way back, at least before sunset, were spectacular too.



And we were “entertained” (if you can call it that) by a rental car in front of us that was driving erratically and dangerously. Brian, our driver and guide, was increasingly agitated by what he saw, and after a while he asked me to take photos and videos of the car, along with its number plate, which we then reported to the Police.



As we entered Te Anau, a member of the NZ Highway Patrol was on hand to pull the car over, and to collect the photos and footage I’d taken. We left the officer to speak to the driver, and kept going.

Upon finally arriving at our hotel at 8:30pm, we didn’t feel like going out for dinner so we had a light dinner at the Novotel’s restaurant.

I collapsed in my hotel room at about 9:30pm. I love my mother, and we’d both had a great day, but 15 hours with her had tired me out and I needed some time away from people. I did FaceTime my wife, but I can’t deny that I was just a tiny bit relieved even when that was over and I could stop interacting with people for the night!