Slept in a bit for our last day in Queenstown, then explored around town a little more. The gondola ride provided a beautiful overview of the area, thanks to the sunny and clear day. We watched the tandem paragliders jump off for the 10-15-minute spiral to a soft landing near downtown.
Back in town we strolled through the Queenstown Gardens that occupy the spit of land across from downtown. The Gardens were beautifully manicured, housed the Queenstown Bowling (bocce) Club, had a “disk,” i.e., Frisbee, golf course, the ice rink that was closed until next month, and a monument to the ill-fated Scott expedition that almost reached the South Pole. We enjoyed our last 1789 Lounge happy hour, chatted with a Canadian who was on a 42-day trip down under, and packed up for our departure to Aoraki/Mt. Cook in the morning.
Gardens One of eight rinks in NZ TSS Earnslaw coming to port, last steamship on the lake