It rained…and rained…and rained. A steady rain that gets you soaked after being outside for 5 minutes, which we know all too well because it took us 5 minutes to walk to the park’s Visitor Centre!
Despite the weather, we had plenty to do at the Hermitage.
They have the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre Theatre and Museum. You could literally spend all day reading/viewing the pictures and exhibits about the history of the Hermitage, the climbers, guides, and of course, the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary. Sir Hillary, a New Zealander, is known for being one of the first two people to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, alongside Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay. He also reached the South Pole in 1958, the first to get there overland since Amundsen/Scott. He spent a lot of time in this area and ascended the south ridge of Aoraki/Mount Cook in 1948. There’s even a bronze statue of Sir Hillary at the front entrance of the Hermitage Hotel.
In addition, they have a theater and show movies about Aoraki, Sir Hillary, and the SAR (search and rescue team).
We braved the weather and spent time at the Visitor’s Centre where they have a great historical display as well.
In the evening, the theater turns into a planetarium where we learned about the Southern sky since our outdoor stargazing experience was cancelled due to cloud skies.
Now a few things I have been meaning to write about…
The eggs🥚🍳🥚! I call them the golden NZ eggs because the yolk is so yellow. And the eggs are so fresh. I looked it up to see if it’s just me. It’s not! It’s diet high in carotenoids (natural pigments) and a free range lifestyle. The hens eat a diet rich in yellow corn or lush greens. There are no synthetic dyes and the eggs are shipped to the grocery stores within days of laying. I had poached eggs multiple times and they eggs were all amazingly delicious. I will miss these eggs.
The hot drinks! Every place (from a gas station to a coffee shop) makes a great flat white and hot chocolate with milk or milk alternative. Sure beats those hot chocolate “machines”.
What is this?? It’s the best ketchup on the planet, that’s what! it’s ketchup spiced with Indian aromatics and I will never look at ketchup the same way again.
Brendan and I went to this gelato place twice while in Queenstown. You have to work for it as it’s up a hill as you head to the gondola. It’s delizioso! The flavors were some of the best I have had. I mentioned in a prior post that New Zealanders eat more ice cream per capita than any other country in the world. I don’t know what I’ll do when I get home and don’t have daily ice cream options! NZ is also the 3rd largest milk product producer in the world.🐄 They do dairy right. 🧀🥛🧈
The cows🐮 and the sheep🐑! Cows more on the North Island because they don’t like the hills. Sheep everywhere but more on the South Island. They outnumber people 5:1.
Christina’s Journey Journal 