Summer" continues in Queenstown with temperatures rising to the great height of 11c! This morning when we awoke there was  snow on the mountains that we can see. Undaunted, however, and despite a showery forecast we set off for nearby Arrowtown.

This is a former gold town of the Otago goldrush of the 19thC which has been preserved. We enjoyed the museum and looking at the old houses and shops and having coffee in the old post house. Then we walked briefly along the River Arrow and back for lunch. We had the unusual meal of stone cooked lamb. The stone is heated to a high temperature, the meat is placed on it and it cooks! Simple but very effective!

The main street Arrowtown

After lunch we went to look at the Chinese settlement, which though part of the town was separate. The Chinese were regarded very much as immigrant workers and made to feel inferior.

John outside a Chinese dwelling

We felt we must have an ice cream after this and as luck would have it there was an excellent ice cream parlour to hand! All this was accomplished with not one shower of rain!

Ice cream tasting in progress

We returned to Queenstown but continued on the same road out towards Glenorchy. This tiny community is at the head of Lake Wakatipu - the same lake we can see from our apartment. It was quite a long drive up the edge of the lake and by now it was raining hard. It stopped briefly once we got there to enable us to walk down the jetty but we soon had to retreat into a tearoom for a cuppa! It must be a beautiful place in the sun but was rather spoilt today by rain and low cloud - though thankfully not as misty as the Otago Peninsula!

Jetty at Glenorchy

Although it is still raining as I write, I can see some blue sky so I'm optimistic that we may have a fine end to the day - that our lovely view will be even lovelier and that tomorrow will give us some sun for travelling to Tekapo.