Walter Peek High Country Farm

Our last day brought blue skies and an adventure to a sheep farm. We boarded a steam boat and were ready to see more sheep.

Our boat coming to pick us up

A steam boat needs coal - while passengers alighted, a coal truck brought a fresh load in for our trip across the lake

This steam boat allowed us to get a close look at the inside workings. There was a walkway above the where the workers shoveled in coals. 

Duct tape? 

The beautiful building where we had a lunch barbecue - lamb, steak, chicken, and beef. It was delicious!

The pup bringing in the sheep!

After watching the sheep herding demonstration, we headed to the barn for a sheering demonstration. Below is a picture of the sheers once used by farmers. As technology had advanced, so has sheering equipment. With sheers, similar to the ones below, a man could sheer around thirty sheep per day. But with electric sheers, a single man can sheer up to ten times the amount. Gotta love technology!

Sheep are known to not be the smartest animals on this green earth. During the sheep sheering demonstration, sheep proved yet again to be "not the smartest tool in the shed." When sheering a sheep, one must sit the sheep down. Yes, SIT the sheep on its backside. This renders the sheep defenseless. Once the sheep is comfortably in a sitting position, sheer away.

Isn't that the cutest thing?!

Different kinds of wool

Such a cute little lamb

Mom, I thought you would like this - for some inspiration

Queenstown

The last stop was Queenstown. 

Along the waterfront I found this cool swing - made from pulleys

After a good nights sleep, we took off for another hike. Finding groves of Lupin hidden here and there, this was the first day in New Zealand I felt warm.

 While hiking, I looked down at the river and noticed several jeeps plowing through the river. Some were guided tours that were on "off-roading adventures" and some were people on their way to hunt for gold. I think the jeep below was on a gold hunting expedition.

Panning for gold

A gentleman said there was still gold in the river but there was more in the mountains

Welcome to Arrowtown - a town that once was the center of the New Zealand Gold Rush

The Post Master - where we ate lunch

In this particular store, there were several stuffed jack rabbits dressed as different occupations.

"Class, settle down. Please turn to page five in your math books."

Best. Cheesecake. Ever.

There were many Scottish influences all around New Zealand. One influence being this boy playing his bagpipe. 

Mildford Sound

Mildford Sound is a fjord in the southwest part of New Zealand. Being named one of the world's top travel destinations, this is New Zealand's top tourist destination. A fjord, a Scandinavian word,  is a long, narrow inlet of water that is surrounded by cliffs created by glaciers. A leisurely boat ride through the fjord, although very foggy and rainy, allowed us to see cascading waterfalls. The rain actually was a blessing; the waterfalls were much more active due to the rain!

A view of the deck of our boat

A sister boat - our boat looked identical

View from a bridge on the way out of the park

In order to get to Milford Sound, we had to drive through a mountain. This tunnel took almost twenty years to dig; partially due to WWII but also due to the magnitude of the mountain