The coach turned up on time and it was the same driver David, who had driven us up from Christchurch three days before. We got chatting again and I became something of a driver's moll as I was invited to sit at the front and talk to him. He was glad of the opportunity to converse about home and I was able to ask questions about the passing scenery and agricultural activity. We drove past the beautiful Lakes Pukaki and Tekapo:
which are coloured by the glacial flour floating in them. Going up to Mt Cook they had looked a stunning blue colour with the sun on them but this time it was cloudy and grey and the water just looked creamy. We heard more about the HEP schemes and the irrigation schemes which features huge and very expensive metal structures which proceed across the field spraying water. It seems odd in a country which gets so much rain that water is such an issue but the east side of the mountains are very dry in summer. It is somehow worth the farmers while to spend thousands of dollars on irrigation in these parched regions in order to produce enough pasture and crops to feed the animals.
We drove on through the spectacular Lindis Gorge and then through Bendigo and the former gold mining area which is now a tourist attraction. The former mining settlements are being restored and tourists can go panning for gold. After passing the town of Cromwell we came upon an important fruit growing area and stopped at a road side fruit farm. I bought cherries and they were delicious.
Finally we arrived in Queenstown at about 6.30 in the evening. The cloudy weather had given way to sun and QT was hot. I checked into the YHA and the luxury of an ensuite bedroom. I dumped my bags and went for a welcome stretching of the legs.
Queenstown is very attractive to look at as it is set right on the lake front. 
There are gardens which you can walk up through and there is an old paddle steamer which takes trippers up and down the lake. There are also lots of lake side bars and restaurants. It is a very vibrant town which caters for youth culture. There are lots of adverts for bungy jumping, sky diving and power boating etc. It turned out to be a bit too vibrant as that night I got very little sleep. The revellers were out in the streets all night long, shouting and screaming. It was made worse by the fact that I knew I had a 6.00 am start to get the coach to Milford Sound the next day.
