1. You, to share/enjoy/journey with us; and
2. Us, so in a month, we can still remember everything we did!
Oh, and I can't forget the bonus:
3. For Holly, to learn how to use the iPad. We are traveling with one laptop and one iPad, so if we're computing, it's a toss-up as to who gets which. Actually, Kee-Min usually lets me have the laptop, but if he wants to manipulate/upload photos, do some really hard-core typing, or anything else that isn't so easy on the iPad, then I get the nifty little Apple device. And I may actually be getting the hang of it. I can check its wireless connection, work the Internet, and just about get it to talk to its Bluetooth keyboard. By the end of the trip, I may even be hankering for one myself... [Probably not, though - instead, I've got my eye on a smaller laptop!] In case you hadn't guessed, I'm on the iPad at the moment. So - let the blogging begin!!
It was Saturday (Jan. 7) morning, and we were finally saying goodbye to Te Anau. I, for one, was sorry to leave. I generally don't prefer "touristy" areas, and Te Anau was certainly built to cater to tourists visiting the Fiordlands.. But somehow, they were a different kind of tourist - everyone we met/saw was polite, friendly, respectful of the locals and the environment, and as an added bonus, had interesting travel adventures/stories to tell. Most of them were also "adventure travelers", of all ages and levels, planning a wide variety of hiking, boating, and camping adventures. This, I must point out, is a very specific demographic of traveler.
Without any concrete evidence, I speculate that this kind of traveler interfaces differently with his/her surroundings than someone on a less environment-focused trip. Even without gates, fences, guards, or rude signage, the lakes, trails, and waterways we visited were pristine, litter free, trampled only on the provided paths, and overall treated incredibly well. I found this to be both heartening and hopeful. I was actually proud of my fellow travelers, and pleased to be counted among their ranks.
But mid-morning on Saturday, we were off to join some different kinds of tourists in Queenstown. We drove like this:
And we were energized for our journey by this:
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| Don't ask me why people use the adjective "chunky" to describe food. But we'd never seen this kind of KitKat in the US. Although, there's so much unusual chocolate here that if we used "we've never seen!" as our excuse, we'd weigh a few extra kilos by the time we left NZ! |
Seriously, though - we planned to spend the afternoon exploring Queenstown, then relax a bit after a busy week of kayaking and adventuring. We drove in to Queenstown and were greeted with the most touristy scene we'd yet to see. It was like...the New Jersey Boardwalk meets Paris cafes, or something. There were tourists EVERYWHERE, many dressed in their beach-going finery. There were a few blocks packed with banks, cafes, small hotels, and stores selling outdoor adventure equipment (New Zealand's REIs), and did I mention that there were people all over?
I quickly had my fill of people, but we did manage to wander through a small outdoor arts fair, featuring local artists selling their wares. We were particularly intrigued by a gentleman who takes old New Zealand Crown Lynn china dishware and cuts out images or shapes, polishes/etches them, and makes jewelry. What amazing re-purposing!! We chatted with a few people, made a few purchases, and wandered on.
There are plenty of adventure trips to be had in and around Queenstown, but we elected to leave the River Rafting, Bungy Jumping, and (to my chagrin) Zip Lining for another day - or another trip. There were ships coming and going with tours and fishing expeditions. There was a short, crowded stretch of beach, and some young men who entertained themselves (and us) with some pier-jumping antics, before being chased off.
But after a bit, the crowds, the sun, and our hunger began to get the best of us - and we began searching for a cafe for a bite. Because a fancy hotel comes with an exorbitant Internet rate, we were also trying to find an eatery that would let us jump on a WiFi signal for a few minutes, to check our email and let our families know we were still alive. We refused to go to Starbucks. But Internet is hard to find, and we couldn't really agree on what/where we wanted to eat. Until, that is, we passed the FergBaker.
FergBurgers are apparently something of a big deal down here, and the company recently opened a PIE SHOP right next door to the burger joint. You can read the story in the local paper here, if you so desire. We quickly decided that PIE was just what we needed. Now, we're not talking just apple/berry/lemon meringue pies here (although they did, in fact, have all three - and they looked DELISH). No, these are your Mother's chicken pot pie x 1000, no offense to your mother. There were fillings that included Venison, Lamb, Chicken, Cheese, and Veg in various combinations. The filling is usually either brown-sauce based, or a more creamy white sauce. New Zealand is known for these pies, and we had actually missed our chance to procure some in Te Anau. But here, right in front of us, was the answer to our food dilemma AND an opportunity for some genuine New Zealand fare. We jumped.
For about $10 NZD (shockingly cheap for NZ South Island food), we left with two single-serve pies, just-out-of-the-oven warm, and each in its own little paper sleeve. FergBaker is a take-away establishment, so we set off to find a quiet place to enjoy our snack. I'll admit - I only lasted about 3 minutes before I broke a piece of crust off and started munching. And with just one taste, I practically sprinted to grab a seat here and get started on the eating, for real:
We were starving. We gave thanks (fast), and I did insist on snapping a quick photo. [Mine is on the right. Check out the back edge...mmmm, it was tasty!]
I had a creamy Chicken & Mushroom pie. Kee-Min opted for Venison & Mushroom. They were HEAVENLY. We quickly gobbled up everything but the last few crusty crumbs, which we shared with this little fellow:
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| "Pie crust is my FAVORITE!!" |
Post-pie, we found a coffee/ice-cream shop that offered a "WiFi Free Zone". We were a bit unsure how to interpret such a sign, but ultimately gave the place a shot. I had Banana Split scoop in homemade waffle cone. *drooooool* Kee-Min opted for caffeine instead - he chose a cappuccino, which did not disappoint. And we were correct - it was a Free WiFi Zone (with purchase), not a WiFi-Free Zone. *whew*
Sated, and tired, we headed back to the hotel. But not before picking up 2 more pies, plus a slice of blueberry, to take back to the hotel for dinner. We were happy campers. Or, for the evening, happy Hilton guests...
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| As if the Fiordlands weren't awesome enough...we've now discovered pies. Go NZ!! |
It's okay. My mom never made pot pie. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you are enjoying yourself.
*whew* I was a bit concerned about offending all the mothers out there. I know a few actually read this little blog... [Thankfully, neither my, nor Kee-Min's, mother, actually make cpp, either.]
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