After breakfast in Te Anau, we caught a shuttle bus back to Queenstown. It is clear there are many backpackers here - everyone getting on the full, 41-seat bus had a backpack versus a suitcase. While we met many young backpackers, we met just as many our age or older. We had a delightful conversation with an Australian couple, while we were waiting to catch our bus, who have been on hiking trips all over the world. We guessed they were in their seventies (he mentioned he went to Berkeley in the '60s) and they had just finished a 4-day, 3-night, hut-to-hut tramp in a different part of Fiorland National Park.
The bus ride back to Queenstown was about 3 hours and had lovely, scenic views the whole way.
We got back to Queenstown at about 3 pm, picked up the luggage we left behind, and began the job of re-packing our hiking stuff into our large bag. After we made some progress on that task, we took a bus ride to downtown Queenstown to enjoy a fun last evening taking in some music, the beautiful waterfront, and a wonderful dinner. We found a place to eat where we could sit outside with a view of "The Remarkables," the name for the mountain range on the southeastern shore of Lake Wakatipu. The Remarkables and the lake provide an impressive backdrop for Queenstown.
A concert in the City Square.
Our view of The Remarkables from our restaurant table.
We had a delightful young waiter from England. He was like many of the young folk we met - he had bought a one-way ticket to New Zealand and was waiting tables for several weeks before he had plans to travel to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We talked to multiple people who are traveling for 6-12 months without any clear plans other than a sense of adventure and a passion to see the world.
Our waiter from England.
All in all, our take-aways from New Zealand are the New Zealanders are extremely friendly and helpful; the country is gorgeous; we met a lot of people like us that are passionate about the outdoors and the conservation of beautiful spaces; and we think this is a fantastic place to visit!
Tomorrow we fly home, thankful for the time we had to see this part of the world.
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