South from Queenstown

I'd managed to arrange for us to kayak across the Lake Wakatipu which the Te Araroa Trust labels as a Hazard Zone and advices taking a shuttle bus to the next track.  It is a huge lake and can only be tackled in the right weather conditions.  To my disappointment on our scheduled day of departure the wind was up and the lake was wavy so we had to abandon that plan and instead opted for a ride on a vintage steamship the Earnslaw.

We said our goodbyes to Phil leaving him to head off to explore New Zealand alone and went to buy our tickets for the Earnslaw.  We were informed that it was having engine troubles and it might not depart.  Ummm the Earnslaw was built in the same year as the Titanic and it was Friday 13th the same date the Titanic sunk!!  Maybe the shuttle bus wasn't such a bad idea...  The Steamer did depart, I made sure I knew exactly where the life boats where - just in case!

We were fortunate that we had gained the permission of a private land owner to walk to the start of our next trail head. 

Setting off on the Earnslaw

The Life Boat!