Today I finally got a reprieve from our events coordinator, and we were able to stay close to ‘home’. On the agenda for the day was a trip into Queenstown (.8 miles) to have lunch and look around, then off the the Walter Peak Farm Tour.

After a fairly leisurely morning, we were ready to hit the road. Having scoped out parking before, we knew exactly where to go. I wouldn’t normally have driven such a short distance but the forecast has had the potential for rain (or snow) every day we have been here. Once parked, we headed up the hill to take a ride on the gondola to the top of Bob's Peak. It was a very comfortable ride, and the views of Queenstown and the surrounding area were pretty spectacular. Melissa wouldn’t let me bungee from the top, something about it being a stupid idea. I snapped a couple of souvenir pictures and we headed back down. On the way into Queenstown we found a bird sanctuary that looked to offer the best opportunity to see the Kiwi, among other native animals. We were in bit of a time constraint, so Melissa just scoped it out and put it on the list for another day.

I have seen all over the internet that when in Queenstown, you have to have a Fergburger. Apparently I was not the only one to see this proclamaiton, as the place was pretty well packed. We cycled though the line and found a nice little corner table to tuck into on the patio. I made the commitment and ordered the Ferg Deluxe. The burger was quite large and very tasty, but I would put it up against a Gabby’s in Nashville any day. I did eat the whole darn thing though. Not sure I have eaten that large a sandwich, bun and all, in years. I told Melissa I was pretty much full until the next day. The the rest of the family enjoyed their burgers as well. None of them were as committed as I was though. Maybe they are just smarter than I am, and decided not to hurt themselves. Fergburger, check!

The Walter Peak Farm is a boat cruise down Lake Wakatipu to an active sheep farm. Normally this cruise is on a lovely circa 1900's steamer ship. One shopkeeper called it ‘The Little Titanic’, hopefully for its opulence and not the propensity to hit icebergs and sink. It doesn’t really matter because it is June, and June is refit month for the ship. We watched the ship sail into dry dock on our first day, commenting on how cool it looked. Instead, we had a ride on a nice boat, but not an ‘experience’ boat. We made it out to the farm without any incident. On the first part of the tour, we were treated to Asher sheering a sheep and a dog demonstration with Leo and Ace. It was very interesting to learn the sheep were still sheered by hand, and the folks doing the sheering are paid by the sheep. Although our tour guide took about 10 minutes to do the deed, he was talking us through the process. An experienced and skilled individual will sheer an average of 300 sheep a day. That is a lot of wool! The dogs were really cool to watch as well. Two dogs with two very different jobs. One would go out and bring the sheep down from the hills using mostly visual and physical direction, and then the second would move the sheep into the pen using movement and vocalizations, while the first laid just a little bit away to discourage runners.

Following the demonstrations, we had a bit of tea and sweet treats while overlooking the gardens of the historic main house. Then we went to find some animals to feed and pet. You might be noticing a theme to our trips. When there is any kind of animal in need of viewing or petting, we will find it. The farm had several types of sheep and cattle, deer, donkeys, and alpaca. Highland cattle are big hairy beasts with long horns. They are happy to let you pet them as long as you are feeding them. The female would also try to clack you with her horn if you tried to pet her without feeding her. Ryan would pretend to have food, get in a quick pet, and retreat before getting a sound clacking. The only real downside to petting all the animals was washing your hands after. The hand washing station was outside and had no hot water. Have I mentioned it is about 0c here? The ride back took no time at all and we were off into town to find dinner.

Melissa located a nice place, and in we went. I am still getting used to walking up to the bar to pay for meals even though there is table service. It is just a little different than I am accustomed to, but it's easy enough to adapt. We had a pretty full plate of driving and looking at animals planned for the next day, so we headed on back to the apartment for a quiet night. Well, all of us except Ryan and Elizabeth. They must not have had enough of the cold so they explored the -5c Ice Bar. More power to them, I would rather be warm!