Bertha and The Bunker, way to start bro

We started the way we start most of our international holidays, in Qantas Club de-stressing from the hideous early start to the day by partaking in a breakfast glass of bubbly...having already purchased a holiday whisky and fragrance. We arrive in Queenstown NZ to blazing sunshine and there we meet "Big Bertha", our affectionaly named campervan. A quick lesson in elimination of body waste, thankfully verbal, not in demonstration and we're off. Ten minutes up the road (we weren't off far), we arrive at our campsite in central Queenstown.

Not ones to rough it too often, we had to a 7 course degustation dinner with matching wines at "The Bunker". This was an intimate place (only 6 tables) with a decent log fire, very good service and a strong reputation. We weren't disappointed.

Particularly notable were the quail, the abalone agnolotti and the salmon (wow, perfect skin to complement the rare flesh). The Amisfield fume blanc was wonderful, the 2010 Valli "Gibbston Vineyard" pinot noir also an excellently complex Otago example.

An excellent dinner was not matched by quality sleep. Note to selves from first night in Bertha: in drenching rain & howling wind, ensure no tree branches touch the vehicle that can scrape all night & keep you from sleep. Hmm perhaps we should have counted sheep?

Underfuelled with limited sleep, we struck off for Milford Sound, having picked up a couple of pies from the famous(?) Ferg Bakery for a later lunch, venison and red wine and a prawn and chorizo. Supplies were collected at Te Anau (note - wine can be cheaper at the supermarket than at duty free, but note to self- choosing a wine because it has a rabbit on the label is not a good strategic choice), and Bertha bolted down the highway to deliver us in time for an afternoon cruise. There was time for a little sightseeing as well.