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We arrived Queenstown Friday afternoon after a two hour flight from Sydney. Located in the southern lakes region of the South Island and surrounded by many beautiful mountains and situated on the edge of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu. The outstanding natural feature adjacent to Queenstown is the Remarkables mountain range. It is aptly named because it is one of only two mountain ranges in the world to run directly north to south - the other is the Rockies. Central Queenstown near the Pier, has a vibrant restaurant scene. It is very picturesque and well worth a visit.

On Saturday morning we drove 50Ks to Glenorchy which is a more peaceful, rural setting. I was fortunate to be able to take a few photos of a bride and groom after their wedding! We had glorious views of Lake Wakatipu and snow capped mountains along the way. Lake Wakatipu has a length of 80 kilometres and is New Zealand's longest lake and it's third largest.

Sunday morning we ascended 450 metres above Queenstown on the Skyline Gondola to the top of Bob's Peak. We had 220 degree views of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Walter Peak, Cecil Peak and of course over Queenstown.

As much as we enjoyed snow capped mountains and the busyness of Queenstown, it was now time for a leisurely two hour drive through some beautiful rural countryside before arriving at Te Anau, our accommodation for two nights to enable a visit to Milford Sound. Te Anau is a sleepy little tourist town in the Southland region and is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Lake Te Anau is the largest lake in the South Island and second only within New Zealand to Lake Taupo.