The Beautiful South Island of New Zealand

After a few days in Sydney we flew to Christchurch, New Zealand for one night and then spent a day driving to Queenstown.  We had a few spectacular stops on the way!  Our first stop was Lake Tekapo and the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Our next stop was Lake Pukaki and it was so beautiful!  This glacier-fed lake reminded me so much of the lakes in Western Canada.

Once we got to Queenstown we went up the Skyline Gondola for some spectacular views of the city, Lake Wakatipu, and the Remarkables mountain range.

 

Later that evening we took a vintage steamship called the TSS Earnshaw across the lake to a sheep station for dinner (which was delicious).  It was fascinating to see the engineers shoveling coal into the engine to power the ship!

I fell in love with the South Island in just one day!

Whale Watching

Several years ago, while on an Alaskan cruise, I was able to go whale watching and I remember it being one of the most exhilarating things I've ever done!  When I found out that there were whale watching tours available in Sydney, I had my tour guide sign me up!  I made my way to Darling Harbour early in the morning on my second day in Sydney and went on a three-hour cruise.  I was able to see several whales on their annual migration to Antarctica and it was absolutely thrilling!

Can you see the whale coming up for air?

Here is another whale coming up for air.

Two whales cavorting!

Luckily the man next to me had a much better camera (with a much bigger lens) and he sent me these pictures!

In addition to the whale watching, there were some other amazing views.  I absolutely loved this lighthouse!

Sydney skyline.

Another view of the Sydney Opera House.

Some views while going under the bridge.

I was a little bit windblown afterwards but it was such an incredible experience!

Sydney

I loved Sydney!  I wish I could have stayed there a bit longer (or forever) because there is so much to do and see.

Our first stop was in the Royal Botanic Gardens for a spectacular view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from a peninsula in the harbour.

Our next stop was Bondi Beach, which is a surfer's paradise.

The water was incredibly cold (although that didn't stop the surfers) but I think the ocean is so relaxing and I probably could have stayed there all day.

Next was a trip up the Sydney Tower for some amazing views of the city.

The afternoon ended with a private tour of the Sydney Opera House which is impressive, to say the least.  It was designed to look like a series of sails and there is a fascinating story about how it came to be built.

I spent the evening in an area of Sydney called "The Rocks" which is the site of the first European settlement in Australia.  Most of the original buildings were built by convict labor but many have since been torn down.  However, there are some historical pubs in the area (almost all claiming to be the oldest pub in Australia) and I went on a fun pub crawl with a guide and visited the Mercantile (pictured above), the Lord Nelson, and The Hero of Waterloo.

Note:  I am featured on the the Go Ahead travel blog!  Go here for my musings on this once-in-a-lifetime trip to Australia and New Zealand!