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January 2025 (Part 11)

New Zealand Trip - Day Ten: Franz Josef, Wanaka, and Queenstown

Adventures By Disney - Day Nine: Do You Wanaka?

We said goodbye to Franz Josef in the morning, but not the mountains as they soared inland while we continued our journey south along the coast.  We made several stops along the way, each with amazing views of the coastline.  The trip guide referred to this stretch as "the most scenic drive in New Zealand."  Not sure it was wrong.

We stopped for a while at this waterfall and had fun hopping across the rocks to get to a small island in the middle of the stream.

We took an extended break in Wanaka for lunch and some time to walk around.  According to the trip guide, Wanaka is known as the gateway to the Southern Alps and Mount Aspiring National Park, with natural beauty of surround beech forests and alpine lakes.

Andy even went swimming in the amazing lake.  Even better, we found the NCAA Football National Championship Game on TV in a pub (after inquiring at several places).  Got to see almost the entire first half and well into the second half.  As Ohio State was up on Notre Dame 21-7 at the half and 31-15 at the end of the third quarter on route to winning 34-23, the game was essentially over when we left.

Liked this town, it just felt relaxed and comfortable.

On the way out of town, our bus driver took the initiative and stopped at a tree which was "Instagram Famous."

We made it to Queenstown that afternoon and checked into the Hotel St. Moritz, which afforded an incredible view of Lake Wakatipu with a backdrop of the Remarkables Mountain Range.