Today was a travel day. Our options for when to fly from Australia to New Zealand were somewhat limited, so Greg and I chose the early option, the 6:15 am flight. That meant we woke up at 2 am so that we could leave the hotel by 3 am so we would have ample time to return the car, navigate the airport, check in, drop bags, etc. Luckily, there was minimal traffic on both the roads and in the airport, so we made it without incident to our gate. We even had time to get a coffee/ mocha/ hot chocolate. It’s a fairly short flight to New Zealand, but add another 2 hour time change. We did get a spectacular view of the sunrise from the airplane.

Cleared customs without incident. Thought we might have some excitement with the man in front of us who had an apple in his bag, undeclared. New Zealand is not messing around with what they allow into the country. There is a whole department for biologicals. They did not, however sic the dogs on him. Easy rental car pick up (I’m actually writing this entry a couple of days past Saturday, and I can guaranty you this white minivan has not previously experienced the driving we are putting it through. Sort of smells hot sometimes…), reminder to drive on the left, and we were off to our apartment.

We started on the Southern Island of New Zealand, in Queenstown. It’s gorgeous. I’m confident this will be a recurring sentiment for the next two weeks. From the minute we stepped on the stairs (open onto the tarmac) to deplane, we were surrounded by snow capped mountains, and amazing clear lakes. Our apartment is decorated with Mother Nature’s pictures.

Unbeknownst to us, we arrived in time for the Luma Festival (light festival) in Queenstown. We ate a lovely dinner at Muskets and Moonshine in Queenstown, and then walked through the festival. Audrey described it as Cheekwood’s lights on steroids, and Elizabeth said it put her in the mood for Christmas. There were beautiful light displays, costumed participants, dancers, and performances. It was quite popular. One particularly interesting performance had dancers up in the trees, kind of hanging upside down and out from the trunks. It takes a couple of hours to walk through Luma, depending on how long you spend in each area. We went leisurely, but steadily, then back so we could get ready for bed.

One note—the bed warmers make a huge difference, and a big thank you to Greg for finding the button to turn on the radiant floor heating under the kitchen tiles!