The last night in Queenstown we took the steam-boat to Walter’s Peak for an outstanding banquet. The after-dinner entertainment was sheep shearing and sheep herding with dogs. All sheep are shorn, good merino wool is used for clothing the rest of the wool is used for insulation, mattresses, and stuffing of other items.

Our bus driver is using the less traveled more scenic roads along the old railroad tracks. We stopped at a bungee jump to watch several people throw themselves off a bridge down toward a lake. As I mentioned before, bungee jumping as we know it was patented by a New Zealander. There was a South Pacific Tribe that tied braided vines around the ankles of young men who jumped as their passage into manhood.

We made several scenic stops before reaching Dunedin. The landscape is stunning, cattle, sheep, deer, llamas, mountains, lakes and green pastures, a wonderful place to live.

The morning tour included the world’s steepest road, as certified by Guinness World Book of Records. We climbed it, some faster than others, but we did it.

The historic railway station with it’s lovely Dalton tiles and the Overton house were also part of the tour.

The afternoon tour was a tour to Larnach Castle the site of a tragic family history that was hard to believe. We followed that by a boat cruise to watch the native sea-birds, the albatross was the big card but they were scarce.

Thursday we drove through the country-side to Fairlie where we were divided into small groups for a farm stay. Maggie and I dreaded this activity because the last home-stay we participated in was a disaster. This year we truly enjoyed our family stay. The dinner was a great leg of lamb, we enjoyed the company and everything we learned about farming in New Zealand.

Today more country driving and a flight to Melbourne.