I guess that, in a holiday of over 5 weeks, something is bound to be lost because of bad weather. It poured all night and all morning, so no helicopter ride to the Glacier and, for the first part of our journey over mountains and through valleys, the views were spoilt. Miraculously at lunchtime, the skies cleared and the remainder of the trip through countryside resembling the Lake District was glorious. We are now firmly in “Lord of the Rings” country. We arrived at the hotel in Queenstown in the late afternoon and I have a room with a balcony and a wonderful view over the lake, a perfect base for the next 3 nights.