The Earnslaw

In the evening in Queenstown, we boarded a 1912-era steamship to go down the lake to a working sheep farm. The ship is powered by coal, and they have opened the center of the ship so that we call could see the workings of it. We cannot imagine how hot it must be down there for the stokers - the people who shovel the coal - but they were down there the whole trip, and someone has to keep the fires burning throughout the night. Going out to our dinner, we thought perhaps they had scrubbers on the engine, but coming back, you can see that there were no scrubbers. We were quite surprised by that since New Zealand is a very environmentally conscious country, but it is perhaps grandfathered in.

The cabin of the Earnslaw seems to be about the same style as when it was built, and our trip to the sheep farm was uneventful. Once we arrived, however, we were immediately sent to a nice eating area that holds many people, though a person would not know it. They had a beautiful buffet prepared for us with a large number of salads; vegetables galore; cuts of beef, chicken, free-range pork, and lamb; prawns and salmon; and more desserts than one could imagine, including a sticky toffee bread pudding that, when topped with ice cream, was dreamy.

Don helped himself to two very large plates of food, followed by two desserts; Micky had a plate of salad and a plate of meats and veggies, followed by no fewer than . . . well, I can't count them ... desserts; and I had one plate of salad/main course, and four desserts. We are all gaining weight. After dinner, we were treated to a sheep shearing demonstration and a sheepdog herding a group of sheep. So enjoyable. The sheep had obviously been sheared many times, because she was pretty calm, which, according to Don, is not the usual way sheep shearing goes. And watching the dog work thrilled us. Once I have my video, I will post it here . . . it should bring a smile. What a treat we experienced Friday night. We would love to do it again, but our waistlines can't take it!