After much debate and thought Dan and I booked an extra activity for this morning. After the Milford Sound bus dropped us off the night before we booked at 9 am jet boating experience. We choose to try this out even though I thought it might be a little bit too much for me. I decided to try it anyway. So we got up early and prepared for the boat ride. We got to our transport which took us 10 mins or so out of town to the Shotover River. This is a river with many canyons and this company Shotover Jet is the exclusive operator in this river. Once we arrive we see our jet boat waiting. Now for those of you who don't know what a jet boat is here is a quick run down. A jet boat pulls water from underneath it and propels it out the back. That is what gives it it's propulsion. This is a very good method and allows the boat to operate in shallow water. In fact they claim 3 inches is enough water to still maintain propulsion. The other neat thing about the boat is that we float on water and the steering is really agile so that it allows us to travel at high speeds and avoid cliffs and water submerged rocks and trees. We also got the chance to make some 360 degree turns. These turns came with a bit of water and we always got wet. Those on the outside got the most and Dan was on the outside. The boat ride lasted 30 mins but didn't seem that long. It was really fun and both Dan and I we laughing and having a great time. I am really glad we decided to add this final activity in.
After jet boating we took the chance to eat a bit of breakfast. We went to a cafe called Vudu Cafe. This cafe is only open for breakfast and lunch some figured it was a good chance to eat here. We shared the French toast and it was great. I especially liked all the fruit that was included. We even got half a kiwi.
Our last activity of the honeymoon is our half day wine tour of Central Otago. We got picked up at 12pm by Paul and were the only two on the tour. At first I thought it would be weird with all the personal attention but it turned out to be nice. We could ask any question and he seemed very knowledgable of the region. The Central Otago region is a specialist Pinot Noir producer. Almost 80% of the grapes grown there are Pinot Noir. Paul told us that Pinot noir grapes like hot days and cold nights which is the exact climate of this region. I tried two Pinot Noir vines and didn't really like them. I am not a red drinker and even the lightest Pinot's are too harsh for my tastes. I did very much like the Rieslings that I tried. I realized that I like sweeter wines but also not mind the more dry ones. Dan by far favors dry wines. He also enjoyed many of the Pinot Noir's he tried.
The first vineyard we tasted at was Peregrine named after the American Falcon. This vineyard was very modern and had a curved shaped roof to mimic a wing of a Peregrine Falcon. They had an amazing Riesling and I hope we can find it in the states. We left this vineyard for a drive up to Bannockburn area. Here we visited Carrick. A small vineyard that also runs a restaurant. We had a nice lunch here after our tastings. Again I like their Riessling but unfortunately they do not currently have a distributor in the US. So for now it is just a very nice wine to remember if we come back or happen to go to Australia. The lunch was very good. It was a platter that had not much Jeni favorable items. It was a small assortment of delicacies served with bread. I stuck to easy bread items eating some venison sausage (my first try at venison) and I liked it very much. I also ate a lot of Brie and ate a small piece of Salmon. Dan mentioned that I would like the hummus and so I ate a few pieces of hummus bread. Dan of course didn't have much of a problem eating. He even tried a mussel that was still in the shell. Something I would not do. He told me after that he was worried but was happy to see me try a few new things.
After lunch we headed even farther into the valley where the rain fall is small and the heat is great. We stopped at Aurum (gold in Latin) and enjoyed some very good wine. This vineyard was the smallest we visited and was just run by a family. It seems like they are the most boutique because they have nearly no distribution and only really being a locally drank wine. We bought a bottle of their Riessling to enjoy that night. I did happen to try their Pinot Noir Reserve (their most costly bottle) and didn't hate it but probably wouldn't enjoy it more than a few sips. Dan was satisfied with their Pinot Noir better than the reserve but the reserve is a lighter more easier Pinot Noir and Dan likes a full flavored wine. He tells me that their Pinot Noir was the best of the day. If I remember correctly they have won some a awards for their Pinot Noir wines so Dan is not the only one who thinks that.
We stopped for a bit in Historic Cromwell and enjoyed seeing the old buildings that were moved from the old main street to the new one once the Lake Dunsten was made from a hydroelectric dam being installed downstream. The town was a mining town and has grown to a decent size over the last 140 years. It remains largely a vineyard town as it is surrounded by grape vines and few other fruit orchards. Once we were done there we made our way back towards Queenstown. We first stopped at an overlook over the Karawau River. This river has category 3 rapids where we were standing but farther up stream there are some category 5 rapids. Paul told us they do rafting and river surfing on this part of the river. So I'm thinking if my Mom ever makes it here she needs to raft this river. She quite enjoyed her time in Montana and so this river looks like it could be fun. As we continued to make our way to the final vineyard we stopped along the road and watched a bungy jumper jump off a bridge. The AJ Hackett Bungy here was the first commercial bungy in the world. They jump off the old suspension bridge on that section of highway 6. Just a short walk over to the see down the Karawau River again. This spot was a filming location for the Lord of the Rings. It is a scene near the end of the first movie as they are boating down a river through two large statues. Dan and I will have to watch the movie now and see the scene.
Finally we got to the Chard Farm vineyard. This was the biggest vineyard by far. As with Peregrine they have a US distributor. So we will have to search when we get home. Not many of there wines stood out to me all that much but by the end of a long tasting day they seemed to all blend together. Dan really like the second Pinot Noir he tried. I am convinced that Dan is very fond of red. The vineyard employee was quite fun to talk to as we both share a similar eating habit. After this vineyard it was time to head back to Queenstown. We made a quick drive through Arrowtown but mainly just drove straight back. We had a good time overall though ready for dinner to help digest all the tasting we did. We had an early dinner and then waited for sunset in our room. This seemed to never come and finally about 9:45 it was almost dark. Dan and I took a walk and took some night pictures. Though we realized that these photos would not be a good as the Auckland ones and so we quickly returned to our room and crashed for the night.
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