Had a fantastic week in the tourist capital of the South Island, Queenstown from Sun 1 May until Friday 6 May, and, to cap off an excellent week, upon arrival home, my six packs of Minairons 20mm SCW figures had arrived - outstanding!
As this is supposed to be a wargaming blog, I took a few images of the newly arrived figures - however, as I have "several" (ahem) scenic photos to share, I will save images of the unboxed figures as a tenuous link to the toy soldier hobby over the next few posts.....
Up nice n early (about 430am) to pick up our friends, drive the 50km to Auckland airport and catch the 7am flight to Queenstown - ZQN
The friend of our friends house we were staying in, and (below) view from the front door - not too shabby!
After dropping our bags etc, we headed off in the small car that comes with the house (!) for the historic town of Arrowtown, about a half hour drive away. En route we stopped at Lake Hayes for a pic
Several views of late Victorian Arrowtown follow
This old Rolls Royce was just an added bonus
Its a bit of a shame they dont close off the main street, as its impossible to get pictures of the buildings without modern cars obstructing the view...
After a hearty brunch, we headed off to explore another side of Arrowtowns history
Part of the original police post
There was a large population of Chinese men here during the gold rush era in the latter half of the nineteenth century. They lived in these huts they built themselves
They had a pretty hard time of it and faced the usual racism of the times, much like the labourers who built the American railways
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It cant have been much fun in these insubstantial shelters in the dead of winter, with several feet of snow on the ground.....
Back in Queenstown itself, we had a quick look at Lake Wakatipu.....
......as well as a few of the older buildings along the lake front....
....before repairing to a local hostelry for a couple of restorative drinks
This is hazy ale - it is supposed to look like that! When I was young, this would have been assumed to be the end of the barrel and cause for complaint!
Day One, done and dusted. Hope you enjoyed the images, as I have several more to share :)
Looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe - it was!
DeleteYou certainly picked the right week for it Keith, perfect autumnal weather. Hopefully it holds for a while longer as we head south next Friday. Glad you enjoyed Arrowtown - only a couple of streets to the old town, but some great places for a bite to eat or for a tipple…or two.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed Mark...we finished the week off there with a second visit this morning. Both times, we ate at the Old Postmasters House Cafe. No tippling here, but had a couple at the Cardrona ... pics to follow....plus three vineyards on Saturday!
DeleteThe Old Postmaster’s is our location of choice there too. The did pulled beef burger that was to die for and they have lots of vegan options for her indoors.
DeleteWe didnt really look at a "meal" Mark. First time, it was late brunch post our dawn flight ex AKL and yesterday, it was just a morning coffee and scone/carrot cake....very nice it was too!
DeleteOff on an enjoyable holiday to return to a package of new toys. Life is good!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon...returning to the newly arrived figures was certainly an unexpected bonus, as they had been in transit from Spain for over a month!
DeleteFun looking trip and fine looking SCW boxes of goodness!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
The trip was wonderful Iain, and it was great to find the Minairons figures waiting when I got back.
DeleteGreat to see your come back and new stuff sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal. Queenstown was a wonderful experience. There are some beautifully painted examples of these figures on the Minairons website, so I hope I am able to come close to those when I pick up my brushes!
DeleteWhat a lovely place to visit and great to see so many historic buildings still preserved/in use. The view from the house is amazing! Looking forward to more eye candy from your trip. The comment about the cloudy beer made me smile and took me back to Uni days.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve...as Mark (above) has said, the historic centre is about two streets, although there are some very nice hundred year old houses dotted randomly amongst more recent builds. The population in 2018 was 2800, so not a huge place, even now! My beer palate has changed in the last few years, I was always a lager drinker ( you would not wast lager to look like that picture!) nowadays, I prefer something like an IPA or APA, with some hoppy taste to it!
DeleteThat box art on the Minairons packs looks quite dramatic. That looks like a great trip away. It has been ten years since I have been to Queenstown, so it's probably time to think about a return trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence - I have lived here 33 years and have never been before - and my wife was born in NZ and this is her first ever trip to the S Island! Yes, The Minairons boxes are very nicely done - will feature more on these in my next post
DeleteHey a nice week long vacation with the loving wife and new toys waiting for you on the return ? You my friend are living the good life. 😀
ReplyDeleteThanks Stew - this week, you may just be right! Funny fact that the wife DOES seem to become more loving, when a bit of distance is put between home and the usual routine BS!
DeleteWelcome back...with splendid pictures (stunning old Rolls Royce!)...
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil....yes, it is a very nice old car, isn't it?
DeleteJust awesome!
DeleteLooks like a great holiday. Can't wait to see your work on the SCW figures
ReplyDeleteThat looked like a splendid little break Keith…
ReplyDeleteI love the Autumnal colours in some of the pictures…
And toys soldiers when you get home…Hurrah!
All the best. Aly