FIRST OFF, I BOUGHT SHOES.
Queenstown is by far the busiest place we've been to so far in NZ, even including Auckland. People EVERYWHERE. It's often referred to disparagingly by New Zealanders, and I can see why- when you're used to quiet, Queenstown is overwhelming. Plus it's more touristy then anywhere we've been yet. That being said, it is gorgeous. We'll be back there very soon-- on Kara's birthday, actually!-- and we're trying to decide which of the many touristy activities to take advantage of. Should we go bungie jumping??!? (No.)
Kara and I sat in their comfortable white-washed tea room which is open to their garden and had our tea, and then went for a walk through the lavender fields. UGH THE BEAUTY. We both couldn't stop thinking that it would be the perfect wedding venue.
Next up on our Wanaka activities list was the Mount Iron Walk, which is a popular local trail that is 45 minutes up to the highest hill in the vicinity, and then another 45 down. The locals use it for exercise. It offered a remarkable view of Lake Wanaka (to the left in the picture below) and Lake Hawea ( to the right!).
Best of all, we met our first fellow Chicagoans! We walked part of the way up together and commiserated on the misery of hills. They're here for just two weeks. It was a real delight to get to talk to people here about Chicago and have them understand the glory of it. Also we got to offer some fun NZ advice (try the iced coffee!) to those not in the know. FUN. (Speaking of iced coffees, we had some at the local hotspot Kai Whakapai and THEY BLEW. OUR. MINDS. UGH SO GOOD.)
We did a fun bush walk in Makaroa through some similar podocarp forest to what we saw in the Caitlins (but with even more ferns!) Ferns are overwhelmingly awesome here in NZ. There are over 200 species of ferns here, 40% of which occur nowhere else in the world. LOVE THEM. We really need to learn more/blog about endemic plants.