The stars at night

As we arrived in Arrowtown, Cas and I decided to eat first and handle anything else afterward. We found a French restaurant and had some delicious crepes for lunch. That left us with enough time to walk along the river where gold was first discovered in New Zealand, which led to the country's gold rush. 

We had plenty of time for a stroll around Arrowtown before heading to the place atop the Kawarau River where bungee jumping as a commercial enterprise was born. There wasn't enough time for anyone in our group to have a jump, but we did watch a few people take the plunge. It was certainly interesting. 

From that rather unique piece of scenery, we went to the Gibbston Valley Vineyard. Our guide there wasn't really loud enough to be heard, but I got the general gist. They make wine. We drank wine. Gotcha. This was the first time in my life I had ever been in a wine cave. Here: 

 

An actual cave dug out and filled with barrels. Who knew? 

After we left there, we all came back to the hotel. Only ten people in our group were in for the evening excursion. We took a coal powered steam ship called the TSS Earnslaw across the lake to a place called Walter's Peak for a wonderful dinner. Here we are, about to board the boat right behind us:

 

The ride was extremely interesting. Passengers could look in on the men shoveling the coal that ran the boat. When we got to Walter's Peak, we had a really beautiful buffet dinner with plenty of variety. It was quite the meal. 

Following that, we saw a shepherd demonstrate how his dog herded sheep and followed all his commands. That was the single most hard working dog I've ever seen. Finally, we watched the same man shear a sheep. That was a new one for me. It was quite the thing to see- the sheep sort of sat still, because it was placed sitting on its butt, and that is apparently quite disorienting for a sheep. 

After that dinner and a show, we were back on the boat, heading for Queenstown. On the way back, a pianist played old songs, and passengers were handed songbooks. I didn't know about 80 percent of the songs, but I tried on the ones I had heard before. Strangely, one of the selections was Deep in the Heart of Texas. Cas and I sang that one. We even clapped at

He right moments. I think we got a few Kiwis clapping toward the end. 

The stars at night

Are big and bright

*clap, clap, clap, clap*

Deep in the heart of Texas!

And with that, I bid you good night from deep in the heart of the South Island.