3/12/15 Queenstown to Fox Glacier

Have been having a terrible time with the internet so have a few days of catch up now that I have service again - we will see how far I can get.

We left Queenstown and headed out of town to see the world famous first ever Al Hackett bungy jump.  No one in our group of senior citizens wanted to participate so we all watched as others took the plunge.  One couple who were getting married on Saturday did a tandem jump.  A few of our group did go on the zip line.  We stopped at a fruit market and then at a winery.  When Kate and William were visiting New Zealand, they stopped at this winery, Arrum Wines.  We stopped for lunch at a seaside town and bought some food to feed the fish and eels, but the ducks got the bounty as the fish and eels were no where to be seen.  On our way out of town we picked up a Buddhist monk who was walking to Fox Glacier.  We were happy to give him a ride.  He was an interesting young man - originally from the Boston area, Amesbury.  I didn't realize that they don't carry money, but rely solely on the charity of strangers.  They only eat once a day and stand around with their bowls each morning, hoping for donations. We stopped at a Mom and Pop stand to sample white bait fritters (I didn't try it as the white bait is an immature fish that looks like a worm).  Those who did try it, said it was mild.  We stopped along the way to have a nice walk in the rain forest where we heard and saw tui birds also known as fantails.  We arrive at our hotel in Fox Glacier and had an included dinner.