Off to Queenstown

We had a good journey to Auckland but it is getting to be very boring the amount of time we have done it.

We parked the car at the Air New Zealand parking and they said we could check the case in there, too and as we had checked in online we only had to drop our case at the bag drop which sounded easy.

We got to the airport and I put the case on the drop of conveyor and Jon went to tell Air New Zealand that Malcolm would not be flying but we would keep the seat as we had paid for it and they don't give refunds. They told him to go to ticketing which we did and she said no we couldn't keep the seat as 'it didn't work like that' After a long discussion with Jon getting very irate I told him to leave it and we would write a letter. I then asked the lady if the seats we now had were a window and a middle and when she checked she told us we weren't even checked in!!! So Jon showed her the boarding cards we had printed off and she told him they were no use we need proper ones but he said I use this method every time I fly with Air New Zealand. She then said our bag was not checked in either. Things were going from bad to worse! Then they said there was a reject bag which just happened to be ours so she rechecked us in and blocked the seat next to us so it could not be sold. So what went on at the car parking I have no idea. We should have taken a big teddy to the airport and told them it was called Malcolm!

Well after all that it was only another five minutes to boarding so I didn't get to have my glass of champagne!

The flight was really good and we flew right down the middle of the South Island and the views were amazing and we could see all the lakes and Mt Cook. Even though the flight was over lunchtime it was too short for a meal and we could choose from a bag of crisps, a biscuit or a packet of sweets and tea or coffee. We would need to eat when we got to Queenstown.

The landing although very beautiful was very steep, Queenstown being surrounded by mountains and also very bumpy and Jon's arm was very useful. The airport is very small but very beautiful and the first thing you see are the Remarkables which are the mountains to the west..

We collected our case and the lady was waiting for us with our car and once the paperwork was completed we were off. The drive to Te Anau was beautiful but we didn't find anywhere to eat for a long time. We stopped at Kingston at the bottom of the lake and found an old railway station turned into a cafe and it was very welcome and Jon had a burger and I had a BLT and it tasted so good. They have a steam train ride from here called the Kingston Flyer but it wasn't running today.

We carried on to Te Anau and I took lots and lots of photos. There are lots of sheep but not many people but it is all very pretty. We arrived at our hotel which was on Lake Te Anau and very pretty.

After a shower and five minutes rest we went out for dinner but after such a big and late lunch we weren't really hungry. We found a place in the main street and I had a lamb shank and Jon had a seafood salad and then we went back to the hotel as we had had a long day and needed to be up and on our way early tomorrow.
WEATHER
Overcast but looking good