On route to Queenstown, at Omarama and the spectacular Southern Alps
A full 8 hour bus trip will take you from Christchurch to Queenstown, via Mt Cook for lunch or not.. You will need back up batteries for your camera if you are anything like me, snapping gorgeous pictures of the snow capped Southern Alps...
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| One of the locations for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. |
Apparently the local farmers were called in to provide extras for a scene involving a large number of horsemen and a battle charge type stampede....
But each day the weather and light was not suitable, and Peter Jackson pulled the plug on the filming. The poor farmers could not afford to be away from their farms for days on end, twiddling their thumbs, so in many cases their wives stepped in and provided the extra horsemen, so when you think you are witnessing a cavalry charge of men, think again!!!
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| Approaching Lindis pass, and look at that road.... Norwegian "Trollstigen" eat your heart out.. |
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| The Lindis pass |
This pass is often closed due to bad weather conditions and can have black ice, making driving treacherous at the best of times. The traffic queues up and oftentimes, people waiting will walk around collecting piles of rocks which they turn into cairns, or Norwegian trolls... another parrellel with Norway.
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| The snow gets thicker and heavier in the midst of the Lindis pass |
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| I felt like I was in Iceland again... |
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| Our poor Japanese speaking guide had a very sleep audience... they were all nodding off... jet lag I guess. |
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| Then Andrew brings us to Lake Dunstan... Beautiful... we are almost at Cromwell. |
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| largest Pine cones ever seen by me. |
Lake Dunstan was created when a river was damned so the old township of Cromwell was moved, and the locals rehoused. The ski fields of Queenstown are a managable driving distance away ( 50 minutes to The Remarkables, 40 minutes to Wanaka)
Activities for individuals and groups who prefer to explore and experience places at their leisure include four-wheel driving the many hill tracks, trekking and mountain biking, visiting the Central Otago vineyards, exploring the old stone buildings, the Information Centre and Museum and Old Cromwell Town, and discovering the old mining landscapes. Organised activities include guided fishing trips on Lake Dunstan, four-wheeled drive tours, golf all year round on the 18-hole championship course, snowmobiles in the winter, orchard tours, the wine trail, jet boating the Kawarau or Clutha Rivers, or guided tours to historic and scenic sites.
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