It's another post about the South Island!

Introducing... Kara and Rachel's South Island journey- Part 3!

After leaving the rainy and cold west coast, we drove
down into the town of Wanaka on a super sunny and
warm afternoon.

Overjoyed by the change in weather, we spent a lot of
time relaxing by the lake and enjoying the sun.

We also spent some time (approximately 2 minutes)
posing in our aviator sunglasses.

One of the many excellently named hostels you can find in New Zealand.
Other fantastic names include Ewe Dream'Inn, The Missing Leg,
The Lazy Shag, Bay Booziee Backpackers, Just the Ducks Nuts, and
perhaps best of all for Harry Potter fans (whoever they are)... Hogwartz!

One of Wanaka's big attractions is a cinema where all the seats are
couches and comfortable old chairs. It's kind of like watching a
big-screen movie in your living room. Only real difference here is that
you don't know all the people in the room with you, and (hopefully) that
would be different were it actually your own personal living room.

The lake again.
We stayed just a few days in Wanaka and then drove
about an hour down to Queenstown.

Corinna and myself on the boardwalk in Queenstown.

Sometimes, when we're bored, we hunt giant
kiwi's and tame them to do our bidding.

Queenstown being all pretty.

Queenstown is a huge tourist town and very beautiful. We'd heard
from fellow travelers that it was "too perfect" and not the real
New Zealand. There are definitely more tourists there than most
places on the South Island, and it's a bit more expensive as a result.
However, being (experienced) tourists ourselves, and only staying
a few days, we didn't mind the "too perfect" qualities, and had a
great time!

A vast number of people go bungi jumping or
jet-boating in Queenstown.
We chose cheaper entertainment: sweets-shopping.

That Rachel is always outdoing me.

Some chocolate I always want to buy because of the packaging.
$8 for a chocolate bar? I am not a rich woman!

From Queenstown, we took a daytrip to Arrowtown, the only
functioning example of a historic town in New Zealand.
Thousands of miners arrived in Arrowtown in 1862 after
the discovery of Gold in the Arrow River, and it earned
itself a reputation as being a wild and lawless town. Miners
from all over the world were greedy for Gold and constantly
faught over claims and water rights. It took "the strong arm of
the law" (according to the towns brochure) and "the power
of the gun" to settle the miners down.

Rachel in a phone booth.
It really sparks intrigue about who she might be calling?
Answer: highlight below
-->> She's not calling anyone! It's a posed photograph!<<-- Surprise!

Corinna, Rachel and myself enjoying the sunny day in Arrowtown.

Rachel by the Arrow River.

A few of the historic houses that have been preserved in the town.

After a few more days in Queenstown, we took another day trip down to the beautiful Milford Sounds. It's hard to decide on a day to visit the sounds, because the weather is so unpredictable in that area. We wanted to go though, and took our chances booking a cruise in advance. As we drove in, the weather wasn't at all promising, but by the time we were getting ready to board the boat, the clouds had started to clear out and the sun was shining!

During the drive into the Sounds.
It was pouring rain, which resulted in hundreds of
cool waterfalls covering the steep cliffs that surrounded us.

Feeling a bit dissapointed about the rain, but then- what's that? Blue sky!

Getting ready to set out. The sand flies were attacking us from
every angle. (You can't see them in this picture, which is why I look
like an idiot. They are there though, they're EVERYWHERE!)

Cruising around the Sounds.

Blue skies, gorgeous mountains, cool waterfalls, can it get any better?

... it can when a RAINBOW is involved!

Driving back after an aesthetically pleasing day in the Sounds.

True or False?
1. You could purchase this bag.
2. You could fit all of your belongings inside it.
3. You could physically lift the bag and carry
it away with you as you travel around New Zealand.

Answers: 1.) True 2.) True 3.) False, very False

Thanks once again for reading everyone! There's more to come about our South Island Journey, so keep checking back. We also want to do a quick shout out to our Moms (and Grandmas). We know it's not quite mother's day yet but we love you and appreciate all your support. We are both so blessed to have the mothers and grandmothers that we do and you are missed greatly while we travel so far away! LOVE TO YOU!