On the morning of the 10th we left Queenstown by boat to travel across Lake Wakatipu to Mt Nicholas Sheep Station. Once we arrived about half of us joined a tour with Southern Discoveries for the fun of it. I'm so glad I joined that tour because we didn't get to see the same things again. The tour guide took us around the shearing barn and had a little herd of sheep and did a dog herding demonstration with them. Then he moved a second group of lambs into the barn and showed us all how they move all the sheep in at shearing time. He pulled one of the lambs away, sat it on its butt, and did a little shearing demonstration too!
After the tour the entire group met with the owner of the farm and we talked to him about the business, environmental issues the farm faces, etc. We went on a walk down one of the roads and got to see the beautiful mountains all around and a rambunctious herd of cattle.
We spent the evening trying to stay warm in the kitchen with the wood burning stove. Later on they got a massive bonfire going for us which I loved. I practically stayed out at the bonfire all night, even though it was raining. Eventually we all bundled ourselves into bed, quite literally. There is no heating at the sheep station so we all slept in all our warm clothes and curled up in our sleeping bags. I never thought that I would love a drawstring on my sleeping bag so much. I drew it in so tight that I pretty much only had a hole to breathe through. It made it so much warmer though.
I woke up at about 6:30 to go to the bathroom...which was not connected. So I had to go outside to go and when I was heading back to my room I realized that one of the guys, Shane was just standing outside with his backpack on. I didn't have my glasses on but it didn't take me long to figure out that he was staring up at the sky. So I hustled back to my room for my coat and glasses and joined him to watch the stunning night sky. There were multiple shooting stars and it was beautiful. I wish the clouds had cleared away more. After a little while Shane left and I walked down to the beach, took of my shoes, and stepped into the lake up to my ankles. It was freezing as was expected so I didn't stay there long before going back to my room and snuggling back into my sleeping bag for an hour.
In the morning after breakfast it was gorgeous outside since a lot more of the clouds had cleared. We went on another walk up to a hill around a bit from the lake. It was quite a hike up to the top but it was well worth the view!
I woke up at about 6:30 to go to the bathroom...which was not connected. So I had to go outside to go and when I was heading back to my room I realized that one of the guys, Shane was just standing outside with his backpack on. I didn't have my glasses on but it didn't take me long to figure out that he was staring up at the sky. So I hustled back to my room for my coat and glasses and joined him to watch the stunning night sky. There were multiple shooting stars and it was beautiful. I wish the clouds had cleared away more. After a little while Shane left and I walked down to the beach, took of my shoes, and stepped into the lake up to my ankles. It was freezing as was expected so I didn't stay there long before going back to my room and snuggling back into my sleeping bag for an hour.
In the morning after breakfast it was gorgeous outside since a lot more of the clouds had cleared. We went on another walk up to a hill around a bit from the lake. It was quite a hike up to the top but it was well worth the view!
After managing not to tumble to a muddy death back down the hill a group of us went off to find puppies! One of the best sheep dogs had a litter of four puppies. We played with them for a little bit and got to meeting the station owner's two children and wife. The children were adorable, especially with their New Zealand accents. We also got to meet the family chickens and pet goat. We left the sheep station at noon and took the ferry across the lake to meet our two bus drivers, Si and Jamie! We all hopped on the buses and headed off to Franz Josef. They told us it would only take about 4 hours but it ended up taking 6.5! We were all exhausted by the time we got to the hostel and enjoyed a relaxing evening. |