A salmon farm and a vineyard

 

View from the top of the Lindis Pass

The car was covered in frost when we got up and readied ourselves for departure.  It was about 3 degrees when we left the apartment but already the frost was melting, helped no doubt by the sun.  I could have quite easily stayed another night as there were plenty of other things we could have done there and it was lovely accommodation. 

 

We called in for a coffee at the little mall area that turned out to be rather lousy.  After a search for the cheap service station (which took longer than intended) we headed south toward Omarama.  There is a salmon farm on the way and we called in there to get salmon for a meal while we are in Queenstown. 

 

Balancing coffee on a moving platform at the salmon farm

They had a café there, so we tried for another coffee which was a big improvement on the last one.  It was rather nice sitting outside in the sunshine drinking our coffee and listening to the sound of the salmon jumping in and out of the water getting the pellets of food which visitors were throwing to them.

 

The drive to Cromwell, our next stop was stunning.  We were up close and personal with the mountains where the last vestiges of snow were melting away, although at the higher altitudes there was still a very thick covering.  I was a bit disappointed with my photos as they really did not reflect the grandeur of the tussock covered mountains. 

Up close and personal with the tussock at the Lindis Pass

 

We called into Cromwell (the Heritage Village) for lunch, sitting in the sun looking out over Lake Dunstan remembering fondly our ride last March on the Dunstan trail which passes by the village. 

It looks like a scupture of a duck in a nest but it is driftwood

 

I decided that we might take the long way to Queenstown, that is via the Cardrona Valley.  On the way we called into a winery called Domaine Thompson, named after Surveyor John Thompson who surveyed the Otago Province and had a hand in naming many of the places.  He was a direct ancestor of the owner of the vineyard and label.  The person serving the wines provided us with a brief history of the vineyard and the owner (who lives 6 months of the year in NZ and 6 months in France where he has other vineyards in Burgundy). The chardonnays we had were the nicer of the two varietals.  We liked the one that came off the left bank of the Clutha.  The Pinot Noirs were good but, in my opinion, not great.  I wondered if they had started to oxidise a bit as we were the only punters there and I suspect not a lot of people were coming at this time of the year.  The view from the vineyard was spectacular while the drive up to it was on a very rough clay road.

 

Domaine Thompson

The drive up the Cardrona Valley was as lovely as ever with the reward of a spectacular view at the top, of the surrounding mountains and all the way toward Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. 

Remarkables with Lake Wakatipu in the distance upper right

Almost in snow at the top of the Cardrona Road

The Remarkables

For dinner we went to the local pub where we had a very nice meal of pan-fried blue cod with salad and chips.  The fish was cooked to perfection.