Well, we woke up in Auckland and first thing on the agenda was trying to figure out the washer and dryer (its an all in one!) and get our clothes dry before we headed out on our flight to Queenstown. I was cracking up at Rhonda freaking out at the thing (there is video) but we kinda figured it out enough to get the clothes somewhat dry. Now, we didn't necessarily have a lot of dirty clothes after one day but we liked having it in our room as well as I did manage to spill on the clothes we flew in as well as the running stuff. We grabbed some breakfast at a cafe down the street, packed up and headed for the airport and Queenstown.
Arrival in Queenstown was amazing. First off, this place is tough on the pilots. There are mountains surrounding and you can't just fly straight in. You have to fly in, then circle around to get the right approach in for a landing. We made it safely and loved the beauty of the snow capped mountains. We got our rental car and we were off to the Crowne Plaza. Now, this was quite a challenge as they do drive on the opposite side of the road in New Zealand. Rhonda was quite nervous and I was quite confident everything would be fine. It does take a lot of concentration though. Everything is backward, the mirrors, the side of the car, side of the street, the blinker, winshield wipers, etc. Wouldn't you know it the first time I hit the blinker the windshield wipers start going. Oh well, its all fun. We made it without incident to the hotel and got all situated. We headed out to explore Queenstown and checked out the lake, had a yummy lunch at Fergburger, and got to know the town. No dinner for us this night as we were a little tired and Rhonda crashed out early again. I headed out to explore the nightlife but it was no fun without Rhonda. I did stop at the hotel bar and made some friends from San Francisco on their honeymoon. We talked for a while and enjoyed swapping stories and talking about where we had been and where we were going. Mike and Julie were some good company. Well, that was enough as the bed was calling as well. Besides, a big day on tap upcoming!
