Tag 33 & 34 - Queenstown - Skyline - Herr der Ringe - Elephants

After there had been a lot of activity in the previous days, we allowed ourselves a quiet day on Saturday. In addition, the weather was relatively bad. We strolled around the city and bought little souvenirs from New Zealand/Queenstown. Since the cloud cover had cleared up a bit in the evening, we took the gondola up to a viewing platform and enjoyed a beautiful view. This is a must do if you are in Queenstown. Unfortunately it was quite cold and windy. So we didn't last that long up there 😅.

Sunday was the last day in New Zealand and the weather was even worse than the day before 😅. As a result, we started the day just as calmly. I wanted to take another trip to Glenorchy, but due to the weather it didn't make sense. I thought that was a shame because the area is very beautiful and some of the Lord of the Rings filming locations were waiting for us... I think Elisa can cope with the loss quite well😅

In the afternoon we visited the KiwiPark and saw many native and endangered animal species - including kiwis. They're kind of cute: thick, round balls with little legs and long beaks 😅.

Because the loss of Glenorchy didn't give me any inner peace/satisfaction, we went to a Lord of the Rings filming location within a radius of about 15 km. In the pouring rain we went to the place where Frodo and Sam saw the Oliphants. I chose this place months ago because it was relatively quick to reach and yet somehow beautiful at the same time. On the hike I noticed that I had left my travel guide in the car... I found the filming location with the Oliphants quite well - as did some other fans despite the weather on the route 😁. You greet each other and always have to grin slightly because you know full well that somehow you could easily have a roof damaged 😅. Unfortunately, I couldn't exactly find the second location 250 m away (“Sam cooks Tüften”). I have to admit that this bothered me a bit🤦🏼‍♂️. But I was in the nearby area and the terrain was definitely right. Because of the remaining data volume and the endless time you can spend there, we went back after 20 minutes of searching. I always have to show some consideration 😅. Nevertheless, it was a feeling of satisfaction and just pure joy. Standing where THE films were shot almost 20 years ago is a privilege and a damn great feeling 🥰. I will remember it forever 🤗.

At the end of the day we went out for a nice meal and took a quick look at an Irish pub that was pretty full - just like the people in it 😅😁🙈.

Good night 😴