A Remarkable Experience
On the way back to town, I asked Paul which restaurants he recommends. He gave us a few places to try including Speight’s Ale House, Winnies for gourmet pizza, Lauren wanted Chinese at some stage he said the one he likes the best is Lakeside Palace, Licks for gelato and where we had lunch today, Fergburger, for the best burgers in Queenstown.
Well, Paul didn’t lie. Fergburger make fantastic burgers. I tried the Southern Swine with Prime New Zealand beef, American streaky bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, aioli and tomato relish. How delicious!
After lunch, Lauren and I made our way back to the hotel where we wandered around the property taking a few photos until our pick up for our afternoon of touring, visiting art galleries and wine tasting.
When the 1937 Chevrolet convertible bus turned into the hotel driveway, I broke out into a mile wide smile that stayed in place for the entire tour. The top was up on the bus, but there were no windows, so I enjoyed a soft breeze blowing through my hair while marvelling at the stunning view. The sun was shining; wispy white clouds splayed across the sky, the snow on the mountains that was slowly melting, glistened in the sunshine and I was happy.
Our driver, Jessie (Jean Claude), an ex sea captain and marine engineer from Dunkirk in France, had us entertained with his tales of the area, the history, the local artists and what seemed to be his own personal obsession, local real estate.
We visited local art galleries where we met the talented artists, visited an old gold mining town, Arrowtown where our hosts treated us to an afternoon tea at the Stables Cafe and our final stop was Amisfield winery for a private tasting and tour of the basement cellar.
The wine produced here is delicious, some of my favourites were, Arcadia Brut NV, the bubbles of course, Lake Hayes Pinot Gris 07, Amisfield Saignee Rose, and the Lake Hayes Pinot Noir. Oh, and the best part, they will deliver to Australia.
This evening we were too fatigued to move very far from our room, so we headed in to the hotel restaurant for a light meal before heading off to bed. We have another early start and a long day ahead tomorrow.
Today was a great day; with the rush of the Fly by Wire and the pure enjoyment of the bus tour, I haven’t felt so relaxed and content in a long time. I’m sure the few wines in the afternoon helped, however, this was a fantastic tour and if you find yourself in Queenstown needing to fill in an afternoon, I recommend this ‘Remarkable Experience’.
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