Tui Birds, Lake Wakatipu and Christchurch Art Gallery

Merry Christmas from outside of Queenstown!  After a long bus ride from Christchurch 2 days ago we arrived at a beautiful place to stay about 8 miles outside of Queenstown that I found on airbnb.  We felt like we hit the jackpot with the gorgeous grounds full of garden paths and exotic birds, along with lovely welcoming hosts.  When I first walked up to the porch I heard a very long melodic bird call I’d certainly never heard before, and our host identified it as the tui bird, one of the famous birds of New Zealand.  She added that there is more to the song we can’t hear because it’s too high for human ears.  I made a 4-second video to share, but it's too much for this slow internet.  Maybe when I get back to China....that was a joke for those of you not living in China.

We’ve been very busy enjoying the absolutely stunning weather and scenery of the area, doing a long hike yesterday (https://flic.kr/s/aHskqEHGpP)  in the mountains around Lake Wakatipu, enjoying a charming small town general store in Glenorchy, then a great meal at Vudu Café and Larder in Queenstown. Today (Christmas Day) we had a lovely meal at Eichardt Hotel with soft-as-butter New Zealand lamb as the centerpiece.  After a rest we walked off our meal on another arduous hike (only 4 hours this time!) through some beautiful forested areas with lots of waterfalls and running water.

Tomorrow we are off to Clyde in Central Otago area to hopefully bike the Otago Central Rail Trail, which is a former rail way with the rails ripped up and the trail resurfaced for a great biking trail.  It’s been postcard picturesque here every day and the fresh air and blue skies and waters couldn’t be more lovely.  I can hardly remember where I used to live…

BTW, the day before we left Christchurch we visited an old department store to hear the wonderful boys choir sing again, then headed over to the container mall they have fashioned after the earthquake and finally to the fantastic modern art museum they reopened just the weekend before we arrived.  There was some fabulous art I couldn’t resist photographing to share with all, but especially my Iowa City sister, who loves all things artistic.  The wood engravings were some of my favorites.  Enjoy here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskrEzhwi

NOTE:  This blog appears several days after its writing because of poor internet connection.