Bus, Bungy and Beets

We travelled from Te Anau to Twizel (don't you love the names) after rejoining our HF group last night. Tuesday was mostly a day of bus travel but with a few stops.  We had a 2 hour stop in Arrowtown for lunch and wander. Wendy and Judy visited a very old Chinese settlement from the gold rush days that this town is noted for. I wandered up and down the lovely old Main Street looking in some of the shops.  I did have my heart set on buying an Icebreaker tshirt, thinking that since they are made in New Zealand of New Zealand merino wool from New Zealand merino sheep that prices would be much more affordable than Canada. So it was a surprise to find that that is not the case. Très expensive! So I finally stopped looking at them and just enjoyed my wander and buying some post cards for my grandkids. A few of us had lunch at The Tap & Fork Pub which was fun. I had their special burger because it had beets in it - now if that isn't unusual!! Can't imagine finding a burger in Canada with beets on top of the meat. It was delicious but not cheap. Wendy had the seafood chowder which she raved about as well. We had another stop at a famous place on the road, Mrs. Jones Fruitstand. Kind of like the fruit stands in Keremeos, but with a couple of those big buses full of Asian tour groups, I made a hasty retreat back to our little bus as did Wendy but she managed to pay for a small bag of delicious local cherries.

We also stopped at A.J.Hackett's original Bungy Bridge at the Kawarau Suspension Bridge, 43m. high. We were all amazed at the constant line-up to do this. $180 for adults 1 jump, $130 for kids (kids - you would let your kid do this!!!!!?)

Hard to actually get the feel from this picture but it's a long way down then bouncing a few times. I don't even like the Ferris wheel so it was a definite no-go for me. 

Boat retrieval after the swinging has stopped.

We thought this was funny! Note cost for 2nd jump - after your drink I assume.

No dinner pictures tonight (sorry Cynthia) as it was a buffet and nothing to write home about. For the most part the food has been kind of like eating out in Canada - hit or miss. Wine good, we are focusing on just New Zealand wine and they are noted for their sauvignon blanc but prices similar to Canada (or even more). 

We did have a visitor during the night though. We were on the ground floor and windows crack open outwards at top. Wendy was woken at 2:30am when she felt something jump on her bed. She leaped up (only time you will ever see Wendy leap out of bed) and chased the visitor around the room then out the door into the hallway. Reminiscent of bat chasing in France in 2013 but this was a black and white cat with no tail. Apparently he/she is known to do this as it was no surprise to the hotel staff the next morning. I tried to get a reduction on the $5 cost for wi-fi for entertaining their cat but that was a no-go; they only laughed at me.

Looking most unconcerned!

On to Aoraki/Mt. Cook tomorrow, the highest peak in Australasia.