And....we're back. In CO?

It's been a long time since I posted. I'll spare you the list of excuses and get right to it. No, we're not back in Colorado, we were in Alexandra, CO (that's CO as in Central Otago, the north-central portion of New Zealand's South Island). But the area is eerily reminiscent of the Front Range, with dry yellow grasses, rocky outcroppings, and bare hilltops.

Ruben had heard through the office grapevine that the Central Otago Rail Trail is a "sweet as" destination for running and cycling. So on or way to Queenstown for a long weekend (Gore Medical Centre observed January 21 as Southland Anniversary Day) we stopped at this trailhead just outside the town of Alexandra, pictured below, for a wee jog.

Main Street, Alexandra, Central Otago, New Zealand

 There's slightly more to this town that shown in the picture, but just slightly. We were worried that we wouldn't find an open restaurant for lunch (most places close down around 1 pm on Saturdays), but we found a cafe that served Kiwi-style burgers (with a sunny side-up fried egg on top) for Ruben and mushrooms on ciabatta for me.

From there we headed north to Arrowtown, a gold-rush-town-turned-tourist-destination just outside Queenstown. I learned the lesson in Te Anau to stay outside the major tourist destination, and once again I'm glad I did. The route to Arrowtown winds through NZ's wine country and fruit belt.

If you can ignore the window glare, you'll see rows of grape vines at the foot of this mountain.

I was tempted to stop for fruit, but we were really ready for showers (and afternoon naps) and R promised we could stop on the way home, so we pressed on. We were rewarded with Lake Hayes.

The blue-green water you see in these pictures is the real color! It's glacier runoff and supremely clear, deep, and cold. We heard that during warm spells the shallow areas near the shore are warm enough to swim in, but not many people do.

We had rented a bach (a small cottage) in Arrowtown and were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. The walkway to the door just inside the white-picket fence was lined with lavender in full bloom. I brought some of that inside right away.

Settler's Cottage, Arrowtown

Catholic church across the street from Settler's Cottage in Arrowtown.

Arrowtown

Arrowtown

Arrowtown

Restored gold miners' residences in Arrowtown.

Chinese miners played a huge role in the gold rush in New Zealand, including Arrowtown. These are restored buildings built into the hillside in the Chinese miners' settlement in Arrowtown.

We thought we saw a kiwi in the road the night before this picture was taken. I slammed on the breaks and jumped out of the car (fortunately there is zero traffic outside of the main street in Arrowtown, especially at night). While I hunted on foot, Ruben turned the car around so the headlights could assist in the search. We finally found our "kiwi." It was a little hedgehog who did not want to be found. It scurried under a bush before I could get a picture. So when we saw this stuffed kiwi for sale in Arrowtown we figured we'd claim a kiwi sighting at last. I don't know why I look like that stuffed kiwi smells bad. If there was stink, it was coming off post-run me.

Public library in Arrowtown

Every once in a while you see a telephone box in NZ. There is a working payphone inside this one. It also claimed to be a wifi hotspot, and R was desperately trying to get the American football game so we stopped here. I parked myself in the grass while R made radiant circles trying to make a connection.