Waking up to a sunny and more importantly, hot Christmas Day is definitely a first for us both. We made a very early start and by 08:30 were climbing Mount Iron in Wanaka. Reaching the summit in the already warm sun, we drank in the 360 degree views before scooting down (the newly super-glued boot was holding together surprisingly well) and began driving the SH89 to Queenstown.
The SH89 turned out to be an incredibly scenic route. Alpine cottages and floral river dales surround us for the majority of the hour long drive, and the descent into Queenstown was magnificent. Our Christmas morning was then blessed with another climb, this time up Queenstowm hill. We were grateful for the bush cover for the lower half, as as soon as we were fully exposed to the sun we were sweaty indeed! Much water and salt was needed at the top, and looking forward to lunch, we made the descent and wandered into Queenstown gardens.
Inside these - which actually are a peninsula into the lake - we found our own private beach bay for Christmas lunch and dipped our feet into the chilly water. Later on, and after the largest ice cream I've ever seen or attempted to eat, we went for an impromptu swim in the same chilly water. This was dual purpose - too cool off and work off some of the ice cream, but unplanned, so we ended up walking back up the hill to the campsite in rather soggy clothes and squelchy flip flops.
Refreshed, we cooked dinner, which consisted of steak and salad for mains, followed by (the apparently traditional Christmas pudding of) strawberry Pavlova. After pudding pudding consisted of two advent calendar chocolates and a stroll down to the town and lakeside to watch the sunset and listen to the babble of people on the beach, mainly dressed in swimsuits and Santa hats...
No comments:
Post a Comment