Day 14 – Australia/New Zealand Adventure – A Hike and a Steamboat Ride

(Thursday, March 20, 2025) by Ann Silverthorn with Jim DeDad

We had a free day until dinner time, so we decided to sleep until 7:00, but we were so tired, that we ended up staying in bed until 8:00. Apparently, a lot of our group decided to do the same. Later we realized that this was probably due to the two-hour time change. 

After breakfast, we decided to do some walking around and shopping. We found a souvenir, some T-shirts, and a fleece and a new hat with vents for me!

At around 1:00 p.m., we headed up to the Queenstown Hill Walkway, which would be about two-hours long hike once we got there. The only problem was, we had to walk up a huge hill to get to the entrance to the hiking trail, which took more than an hour. By the time we got to the walkway, we were so hot and sweaty that we decided against it. Also, we only had a couple of hours until we were to board the steamship for our barbecue and farm-show experience. 

When we got back into Queenstown, we commenced our search for the beer reward I had promised Jim. We finally landed on The Courthouse 1876, which is an old courthouse that still has the judge’s bench in the main room. Had some beer, fries, and cauliflower bites and were good until dinner. 

That evening, we enjoyed the only optional excursion we signed up for on this trip. It was a 45-minute cruise aboard the historic steamship, 1912 TSS Earnslaw to the Walter Peak High Country Farm. The experience included a gourmet barbecue dinner and farm show, featuring demonstrations of a working Merino sheep farm. 

The Walter Peak High Country Farm is located at the base of the nearly 1,600-foot Walter Peak mountain. The Walter Peak “station” was established in the 1850s. 

The TSS Earnslaw was a working commercial vessel and serviced the back-country stations around Lake Wakatipu. Over the ship’s nearly 100-year history, it has transported people, sheep, supplies, vehicles, and even tour buses. The steamship operations were pretty cool. You could look down into the guts of the vessel to see all the gears turning and also the men shoveling coal into the fire!

It was about a 45-minute ride to the farm, which operates a restaurant in addition to the sheep farm. We enjoyed a barbecue buffet and then a sheep-shearing demonstration. We also got to see the border collie herd the sheep. These herding dogs are very smart and are looked upon as colleagues by the farmers. The dogs sell for around $16,000 each!

At about 8:15 p.m. we boarded the ship for a nice, smooth trip back to Queenstown. The stroll through the town on the way back to our hotel was so pleasant.     

We thoroughly loved Queenstown and would like to return someday. Tomorrow, though, it’s off to Mount Cook, New Zealand’s most famous national park.

15,654 steps!