Jets and Deer

Yesterday we went on the Kawarau Jet – a jet boat ride up the Frankton arm of Wakaitpu, into the Kawarau River and then into the Shotover River. This is run by the same people as the famous Shotover Jet, but is longer and doesn’t go through the Gorge. Well, the boys (all three) loved it!!! I, however, thought it was dreadful and really felt sick by about a quarter of the way into the ride. Ross and Colin were shouting with glee along with everyone else. I thought that Colin in particular would be a bit scared but he was sitting on the outside loving every minute. Adrian was taking photos almost all the time and every time the driver did a 360˚ turn he had to quickly put his camera away! I couldn’t wait to stagger off the boat like an old lady and sit down to have a seasick tablet.

We came back to the cottage for lunch and then took a drive and ended up at the deer park – what a wonderful surprise! For a $20 entry and $1 to buy a large tine of food, we wound our way up “Deer park heights” (just in front of The Remarkables) for the most wonderful view of Queenstown. There were also goats, a number of different deer species, alpaca, pony, yak, bison, sheep, ducks and chickens. The boys got out to feed the various animals and at one point Ross also became an alpaca herder as one would not get out of the way of other cars.









One the way up, there were also a number of Lord of the Ring filming sites which we investigated. The views from the Eastern Summit were spectacular – up and down two sides of Lake Wakitipu.










Then a surprise awaited us on the Wetsern Summit – a Korean prison set from a Walt Disney movie The Rescue filmed in 1986.










Also see what we had to buy in Nelson …not the car! But more luggage space – that’s what happens when you’re away for four weeks I suppose