10/5: Queenstown to Christchurch

Today we got up and got some breakfast in Queenstown at a place that Nicole read about called Vudu Cafe. Turns out it was voted the best cafe in Queenstown 2 years running. I got a croissant with a caramel- almond kind of filling- it was like a coffee cake, and Nicole got eggs benedict with smoked salmon and capers that was fantastic.

We walked around Queenstown a little bit more before heading north towards Omarama, where we thought we were going to stay the night. We stopped off at a number of different wineries in the famous Otago region of New Zealand. I'm still learning to like wine, so it was still whites for me, but the Rieslings from the area were fantastic. We visited Amisfield, Gibbston Valley, Peregrine, and Akarua wineries. I think Peregrine had the best wine and Amisfield the coolest building and location.

We also visited Gibbston Valley cheeses, and sampled cow, goat, and sheep's milk cheeses, appropriate for the surroundings. They were absolutely fantastic.

Continuing the tasting trend of the day, we stopped off at a local produce shop in Cromwell where Nicole finally found a glass of Granny Smith Apple Juice- freshly juiced and bright green. We also tasted local Schnapps and infused olive oils.

We got to Omarama at about 6, but it was a really small town with pretty much nothing open- not even the hotel, they left us our keys in the door. It felt like there should be Dolly Parton playing from the PA- shag carpet, pink walls...

So we decided rather than be really bored in Omarama we'd drive the extra 3-4 hours to Christchurch since it would stay light long enough for us to see Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo. Mt. Cook was really impressive, and the Southern Alps in the area looked straight out of Europe. Lake Tekapo is famous for its bright color- like Lake Louise- but the lighting didn't really allow us to see it that well.

We got to Christchurch and found an internet cafe to book our hotel for an extra night, and got into the hotel at around 11 and found a quick bite to eat. The hotel we're staying at is a new concept, and definitely unique. The rooms are really small, and we don't have a window, but the layout of the room and the amenities make it feel much more comfortable than it should. There's a mood lighting system to put you to sleep and wake you up, mood channels and a whole light and tv and sound wake up sequence, a night light coming out from under the bed, and in integrated control interface. Its great for us as younger travelers and would be excellent for a business traveler- free internet to boot, which is basically unheard of here. Its a lot like a nice cruise ship cabin.