Bev and Larry New Zealand 2012: December 20, 2012 Hawea Homestay to Queenstown

Today is our last cycling day. We had a home cooked breakfast by Jan and at 8:30 am PL took us in his truck to Hawea where we met up with the balance of the group. Our ride today is 59 km from Hawea to Tarras and then on to Stables Pottery. The route was through the high country with excellent views of the countryside and some of the mountains. This was generally a flat and rolling ride. At Tarras their is a small group of stores including a general store and a local Merino Wool Shop. A lot of the countryside contained dairy farms with considerable cattle along the way and irrigation of the farmland. Need the end of the ride we had a good tail wind that literally blew us to the terminus point – Stables Pottery. This shop had been featured in New Zealand House and Garden magazine and contained beautiful gardens. Jan and the proprietors set up a picnic lunch in the garden where we ate. The pictures below give you an idea of the flowers in the garden.

Afterwards we were shuttled to Queenstown with a stop at A. J. Hackett Bungy at Kawarau Bridge for Nial and Diane to do a bungy jump. This is the home of the original, 130-foot-high bungy jump. While we waited for their turn at the jump, several people attempted the jump with a great deal of trepidation. Then cam Nial’s turn and he did a flawless backward jump. Diane was next and she also did a flawless “swan drive” jump with a dunking into the river when she reach the full extention of the bungy.

After a 45 minute drive, we arrived at our hotel, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside. We showered and got ready for our farewell dinner at a local restaurant – Bath House Restaurant – across the street from the hotel and on the lake. Bev, Louis, and I had the filet and Roxanna had the chicken cannellini. The entrees were excellent and the view across the lake was gorgeous. We had a great time wrapping up the trip with this traditional group dinner. The group was so much fun to be with and we will miss each of them. Tomorrow everyone heads home except for Bev and me, who will staying another week in New Zealand.

What a wonderful time we had biking in New Zealand and we really appreciated all that our guides for us. Nial and Jan were truly outstanding and made the trip such a rewarding experience. Thanks so very much to both of you.