Travel Stories

NZ Day 7 – Queenstown & plein air watercolor painting

This morning we drove into Queenstown. It’s a bustling tourist town with lots of cute little shops. The hillsides surrounding are full of little condos and homes overlooking the lake. We found a park to enjoy the sun for a little while. While we were sitting there a momma duck and her duckling came by and hung out for a while. The momma was content to let the little one wander while she napped beside our picnic blanket.

Because of the crowds, we weren’t too interested in sticking around in Queenstown. Most of the things to do in town seem to consist of paid activities and not too many free or picturesque options (though we didn’t look too hard for these). I would love to come back out of season and walk the streets.

Below, our delicious breakfast this morning, made in the shared campsite kitchen to give you an idea of the types of places we’ve been making our meals in.

Naomi VanDoren Travel New Zealand day 7-2Naomi VanDoren Travel New Zealand day 7-4Naomi VanDoren Travel New Zealand day 7

Naomi VanDoren Travel New Zealand day 7-10We arrived late in TeĀ Anau. The campground we picked had recently been renovated and had each camp spot walled off with trimmed hedges for privacy so it felt like you were in an English garden maze made for vehicles.

Our view from the campsite is beautiful, overlooking a meadow and river. I decided to take advantage of the view and paint for the first time using my new watercolor paints. I’m still not quite sure what I’m doing so my process is quite experimental.

While I painted Anson made us dinner; soup with cheese and fresh bread from the bakery.
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Naomi VanDoren

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