Feeding the furnace

One consequence of the injury to Mr H was that we had to reschedule the planned trip on the TS Earnslaw from Queenstown west along Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station. It was booked for Monday; because that was the day after his surgery, and the day we drove back from Invercargill, we had to cancel, and then rebook. To make sure that we would be back, we made it for today, our last full day here.

Woke to rain, which has been threatening much of the week we've been here. But it stopped before we got on the boat, and the day has ended up warm and sunny. No one got wet. Both boys handled the boat without fuss. At the high country farm (station), we were shown a sheep being shorn, and the same man demonstrated how well his border collie obeyed his commands to round up a small group of sheep.

Then a really good barbecue, a bit of a walk around (bird spotting for me), and then back to Queenstown. 

We were told that TS stands for Twin-screw Steamer. It is a steamship launched in 1912, and still runs on steam produced by a coal-fired furnace. The pile of coal is to the right of the stoker. His movement was too fast for the Canon. 

Home tomorrow.