Daily itinerary were:
- Walked to Lake Matheson to see reflection of Fox Glacier and Mount Cook
- Stopped at Knight's Point for closer view of Fox Glacier
- Drove through Mount Cook National Park and Mount Aspiring National Park
- Stopped at the Neck to view Lake Hawea
- Lunch at Wanaka
- Stopped at Cromwell for fruit
- Stopped at Arrowtown
- Arrived Queenstown and dinner at Lake Side Palace Chinese Restaurant
- Checked into Copthorne Hotel & Resort
The first activity was to walk on the Lake Matheson Walking Tracks to Lake Matheson for the beautiful view of reflection of Fox Glacier and Mount Cook on the lake. It was early in the morning, the air was fresh and the trail was pretty quite; we felt so tranquilized with this walk. It was the best walk we had on this whole trail. Vivian told us that people in New Zealand consider they have the freshest air due to the fresh air come from South Pole for them to breath in first, then it move to other parts of the world. After the Lake Matheson walk, we sort of believing that statement.
We also stopped at Knight's Point to have a closer view of the Fox Glacier.
Then we left Mount Cook National Park area and drove toward Mount Aspiring National Park area. On the way, we stopped at the Neck to view the beauty of the Lake Hawea.
We stopped at Wanaka for lunch. Quite a few of us just ordered the lunch and took to the picnic area by the Lake Wanaka and enjoyed our lunch along with the beautiful lake view, nice sunny weather, and sea birds.
The way the New Zealand farmers raise their sheep, cows, deers and other animals is to let them grow naturally without much human intervention. These animals are just wondering in the grassland and eating grass, and laying there rest under the sum. With the grassland and animals, it forms a beautiful scene. Wherever we drove, the green grassland, hilly terrain, relaxing animals are always paint a beautiful scene on either sides of the road.
The next stop was Cromwell. We stopped at Jones Family Fruit Stall on State Highway 6 in Cromwell to see the famous fruit store. They have both fresh and dried fruit. Quite a few of us bought dried cherries and blueberries. Some of us also bought fresh pears and other fresh fruit. They also has a beautiful garden at the back. It provided nice Kodak moments for us.
Then we stopped at Arrowtown which is near the northside of Queenstown. During the high point of the gold rush they had a population of over 7,000 and became the center of a larger municipality. They have many well preserved buildings used by European and Chinese immigrants dating from the gold mining days of the town. We stayed there a short time for just walking around and took a restroom break.
On the way to Queenstown, we passed by a river where we spotted Jet Boat activities. It sure looked fun and it made us want to come back in the future to Queenstown to do the Jet Boat. When we arrived Queenstown, it was dusk and we still have some time to kill before dinner, therefore Vivian gave us about 1 hour free time to wonder around on the Mall Street near the waterfront of Lake Wakatipu. Manuka Honey spray was a popular item by our group. They sell it as a therapeutic anit-bacterial item. With some of us coughing after days of fatigue, it became a popular item to purchase. Some of us also walked down to the lakeside of Wakatipu to enjoy the scenery.
We had dinner at the Lakeside Palace Chinese Restaurant. Only one couple had pre-ordered $95 AUD lobster as additional dish for their dinner. However, the rest of us rather to have lobster in Houston Chinatown's restaurant for $19.95 (2 lobsters).
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