May 5
Lawrence to Queenstown

The morning dawned dull and dreary although the overnight rain had ceased. After a light breakfast, I downloaded some emails, uploaded some photos and watched the sun slowly emerge from the clouds.

I said farewell to Barbara and Stephen, drove the short distance into the centre of Lawrence along the terrifyingly busy main road, and did a short explore. This included a stop at the post office, a chat with the lady at the information centre and a climb up the hill to photograph the Roman Catholic Church.   Right: The busy road and the rising sun

	Up the hill to the Roman Catholic church
Lawrence Information Office	The Wild Walnut Cafe

At Beaumont I crossed the rickety one way bridge and dropped down a narrow track to the river bank for a couple of photos. Central Otago has lots of exotic trees - ie deciduous ones - brought in by the early settlers. In the autumn, these produce splendid colours, which are quite exciting after the almost monotonous green of the native flora.

Clutha River, Beaumont	Colour by the wayside

Millers Flat has a pub and a pretty bridge. The trees on the river bank were magnificent but the sun was in completely the wrong direction for photography. Not wishing to cross the river,  I didn't bother with any photographs but made my way to a local orchard, where I found boxes of fruit guarded by a smart looking scarecrow. I bought peaches - cheap but mainly past it - and pears, which were also cheap but which I haven't yet tasted. Right: Millers Flat pub
	Peaches by the box
Worzel Gummidge?	Apples as well

Roxborough is the home of Jimmy's Pies, which have legendary status in these parts. Against my better judgment, I had a sausage roll with my coffee, which I ate outside in the bright sunshine whilst writing my diary. I suspect  it contained my week's fat ration all in one elevenses.
Not a healthy snack	Jimmy the Pie

The road rose out of the hot sun in Roxborough and suddenly plunged into either very low cloud or fog. The temperature also appeared to fall by many degrees. From there to Alexandra it was slow going all the way, with headlights on and very restricted visibility.

Difficult driving ...	... but the sun appeared occasionally

There are some lakes by the side of the road which would have been great to photograph - dead calm and covered in mist - but  trying to stop by the side of the road would almost certainly have caused an accident. As there was quite a lot of traffic around, I continued on my way. In retrospect, I should have found somewhere to stop but it wouldn’t have been easy.

	At Alexandra, the river bank was in full autumnal leaf. I took lots of photos of the wonderful display of colours, of the river and of the old bridge. It is a very pretty spot and and, at this time of year, probably at its best.   Left: The Clutha and the colours
Even the car park looked good	And the river was amazing

The old bridge in Clyde is another good photo opportunity, although the pretty leaves were never quite in the right place to frame the bridge properly. I spent a while wandering around on a blind corner trying to find the right angle for a good photo. Luckily, the traffic wasn’t too heavy.

As soon as I entered the Post Office Cafe, I realised that this was where I had eaten when I spent a night here last year. Following the excesses of elevenses, I ordered the soup. When it arrived, it was more akin to a risotto. I could have walked across it. The advertised tomato and bacon were probably present and so were large quantities of pearl barley and vegetables. Hardly a light meal but it was probably healthy. The Shaky Bridge gewurztraminer which accompanied it was very good.

The Post Office Cafe, Clyde
Soup you can walk across	Clyde War Memorial

The trees along Lake Dunstan followed the pattern and offered spectacular vistas. I stopped at various places,  and snapped away happily.

The fog was still in evidence over Clyde but it looked far brighter and more welcoming towards Cromwell.

Goldfields Memorial, Cromwell
Views across Cromwell Old Town	Fog over Clyde
Chairs ...	... in an interesting context

I found some interesting concrete seats, which I photographed from a couple of angles thinking they might do for a competition. I doubt that anyone else will agree but I quite liked them.

The view from the viewpoint over the old town was excellent as the sun shone and picked out the colours in the trees. Even the big fruit looked good enough to eat.

The Kawarau Gorge was full of people on boards, tying to float down the fierce current. Only having my short range lens in the camera I was unable to capture the looks of terror which, I'm sure, were on their faces. Not my idea of fun but they had paid good money to do it.

	Gibbston Valley Cheesery
Gibbston Valley Estate	Gibbston Valley cheese

The Gibbston Valley complex now boasts a cheese factory as well as a winery. Prices of everything were outrageous - the benefit of being near Queenstown - so I tasted and bought some cheese but only tasted some of the white wines.

I even caught a glimpse of Alan Brady, long retired from here, the great man who established the vineyard and pioneered the wine industry in the valley.

I found the motel without difficulty and checked in. The room was basic but comfortable enough and definitely good value by Queenstown standards.

An almost view of the lake from the motel	Wandering paraglider

The town was busy compared to most towns here but quiet compared to how it usually is. The summer season and school holidays had finished and the skiing had yet to commence. A paraglider (or similar) was circling perilously low overhead. I assume that it managed to land somewhere other than on the main street but I didn't see where it went.

	TSS Earnslaw
Lake Wakatipu

The lake was pretty, the Earnslaw was steaming away and the sun was low over the mountains. I was able to enjoy the sound of the waves lapping against the shore.

I wandered along the beach, looked at a few menus, ignored the shops and finally settled in the local branch of Dux de Lux for an interesting wheat beer in front of an impressive gas fire.

No real ale, unfortunately, but what I had was quite good. The building had lots of old features which made it a comfortable place to visit. There was even a border collie wandering around, most unusual for New Zealand. When I finally managed to point my camera at it, it was hiding in a corner, trying to get as close as possible to a plate of chips.
Now you see me, now you don't	Dux de Lux

On the return to the motel, I passed an amazing holly tree. I don't think I have ever seen one with such an even covering of berries. As I keep on saying, it must be a good year for them. Back at the motel I did a small amount of work and collected a few emails which suggested that there would be lots of work for me to do over the weekend. As it turned out, the appalling weather made that quite convenient.
A cold night for a sail	The holly but no ivy

I donned several layers of clothing and ventured out again to find dinner. The waterfront was almost deserted and I took a few photos before finding the Botswana Butchery, where I had reserved a table over the WWW. My name had confused them badly but they eventually worked out who I was and escorted me to my table.

Queenstown War Memorial	Devilled kidneys
Pork fillet	Rhubarb crumble

The food was as good as I had been led to believe. The devilled kidneys were excellent - but I could probably have done them as well myself. The pork fillet with boulangere potatoes and spinach was several classes better than I could have managed.

The rhubarb crumble was good, as good as I could have made, the ice cream was amazingly creamy & almost certainly home made, and the apple sorbet was interesting. I'm not sure whether or not I liked it. The wines, all by the glass were good but expensive. All in all, it was an excellent meal and worth the considerable amount that it cost.

Evening over Queenstown	Quiet at the beach

I wandered home in the clear night air with the smell of wood smoke everywhere. It was very atmospheric, almost European in feel. A nice end to the evening.