Bungy Jumping in Queenstown & LOTR

Well our last day in New Zealand, I was going to write this blog about our twin bungy jump but that of course would be fibbing. However Queenstown is the only place I have ever been to where the site of the first commercial bungy jump is a historical monument!!! Altogether it is the liveliest place we have been to, probably because it is dominated by young people seeking thrills, white water rafting, jet boat rides, all terrain vehicles etc.. Well we settled on some of the more genteel pursuits.
First a ride on the chairlift to get a perspective of the town. First thing the views were tremendous, and you got a good impression of the spread of the town and the beauty of the lake and mountains. We then drove around the lake to the small settlement of Glenorchy, again the road was only built in the fifties, previously it had been supplied entirely by lake steamer. It is also LOTR country, an expression you hear a lot of here, LOTR – Lord of the Rings of course. Not having seen the film or read the book I cannot verify this, however it is very beautiful with the combination of mountains, lake, and rivers. It also had an excellent cafe where we refreshed on sandwiches and coffee. On the way back we stopped at a small beach and read our books for an hour, to the sound of the lapping waves and the biting sandflies. Time for a long run around the lake slightly spoilt by the rain.
Tonight we headed off on the TSS Earnshaw the world’s only working coal fired steamship. Absolutely brilliant you were able to walk close to the machinery and watch the stokers at work. The clang of the signal bells from the bridge showed how much of an art there is to controlling one. It was also quite hot as of course the funnel passed through the ship and is full of very hot exhaust fumes. It made me wonder how the heat was dispersed in the big ocean liners. Perhaps Thomas know about this. Anyway it was like travelling on a living thing.
We alighted at a sheep station where we had a buffet dinner followed by a demonstration of sheep shearing, now I know it is impressive handling a 95kg animal but I am afraid that I found it rather boring. As they say when you have seen one sheep shorn you have seen the lot. The sheepdog demo was impressive though. Then back on the steamer to Queenstown.
This maybe the last blog in New Zealand, it depends on the schedule tomorrow, when we will try to reflect on our wonderful holiday in a most interesting and hospitable country.