We all woke *very* early on June 5 due to jet lag, but soon the sun was shining bright, giving us our first good look at the mountains surrounding Queenstown. Pictures can’t convey how stunning the mountains are, which is kind of nice when you’ve come halfway around the world to see these things in person. Our hotel is in the center of the picture below.

We spent the morning getting breakfast, picking up the rental car, and buying various supplies. Shortly after lunch, we hopped in the car and headed south from Queenstown towards Te Anau, where we would be spending the next four nights. (We’ll be back in Queenstown for a longer visit in less than a week.)

The drive took us down the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, and the views across the water to the mountains on the western shore were majestic.

We stopped halfway to get closer to the water.

Back in the car, we continued our drive south. The area grew less mountainous, and we soon started seeing sheep by the thousands on pastures stretching up into the hillsides. Sheep aren’t the only livestock in the area, as we also saw heaps of cows, llamas, and some sort of domesticated deer. Indeed, the Kiwi cows added a new obstacle to our travels, as the roads were closed from time to time to allow them to cross.

By 4:30, we were in Te Anau. We soon found our AirBNB in the small town (our second place to stay thus far).

We unloaded our luggage and discovered that this was not a place designed for hobbits, at least not based on the height of the door handles.

Once we’d unpacked a bit we headed to the grocery store, where we enjoyed exploring the local foodstuffs. Their cereal and granola section is amazing! We had to get some.

From there we headed back to our new home for a hearty winter soup, as the temperature would be dropping below freezing tonight. Fortunately, our house was cozy, and our spirits were high!

-Will