I Love Schnauzers   My life with Schnauzers

On day 10, the tour group got up early and headed toward Millford Sound for a day in Fiordland. Mommy and MiniMax skipped this excursion in favor of a day to explore Queenstown on our own. 

Turns out Mommy got a tad motion sick on the drive from Mt. Cook to Queenstown. She simply didn’t have the stomach for a 3-hour coach ride through mountainous passes followed by a 4-hour cruise in choppy waters followed by another 3-hour coach ride home. Based on comments from the rest of the group when they returned, Mommy made the right decision!

Anyhoo…

We started the day as any solo day exploring should start: we slept in, skipped the free hotel breakfast buffet, and had real coffee and breakfast at a local coffeehouse downtown. 

Then we made the hilly trek over to visit the Kiwi Birdlife Park. What an adventure! Here’s a couple photos. We saw Kiwi

 

 
And the living dinosaur, tuatara

 

And even a Kea

 

  
Ok, ok, you caught us. We did actually see all these creatures and many others, but Kiwi are nocturnal and the others simply didn’t want to pose. So we made do with posties. 

The Kiwi are kept in their own houses where their days and nights have been reversed. Since they are nocturnal, by keeping their houses super dark during the day the birds are awake and active and we humans get to see them. But photos aren’t allowed in the houses. 

Still Mommy thought it was neat to see the Kiwis up and about. They’re funny birds!

The Park officials also put on a nice show, telling visitors about the different species in the park. They’re also part of NZ breeding programs for several endangered species, including the Kiwi. 

After we met all these lovely creatures, Mommy and MiniMax went for a walk around Lake Wakatipu. 

 

Then it was time for lunch at Speight’s Ale House 

 

  
After lunch Mommy was tired from all the walking so we headed back to the hotel for a nap. Before we knew it, the rest were back from Fiordland!