It’s just before dinner Thursday here in this beautiful town on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, so for you Americans it’s still Wednesday (or maybe just tickled into Thanksgiving in the East). Queenstown is only about 13,000 people but from appearances nearly all work in the tourism business.
If the word bungy has a New Zealand-ish feel to you, that’s because the folks down here invented it. And Queenstown is all about the extreme outdoor activities, from the wacky Fly By Wire to jetboating to long, multi-day hikes up in the mountains that were featured in the Lord of the Rings films.
We had a bit of trouble getting here yesterday, though. The country’s entire air traffic system was messed up when a small Cessna flipped tail over head at Wellington Airport and so our flight was about two hours late. Making the wait worse was that Air New Zealand switched the gate for us three times, only to end up back where we started.
Then we checked in to our hotel only to find that the ‘renovation’ is more like a major construction project. The room is nice but $23 for the no hot food buffet breakfast was a bit much (the hot food adds $10, all prices in NZ dollars) as well.
But it’s hard to stay upset when you walk out of the terminal and hotel into pure physical beauty. The lake, the mountains, the open countryside are stunning. I took photos but they probably won’t do it justice.
We walked around town yesterday for the afternoon and early evening. Sad to say KFC, McDonalds and Subway have penetrated even this far from home but otherwise the downtown has many nice shops and restaurants. TS1 even dropped $15 at the local casino though I resisted the urge.
Today we drove out about 45 km to a tiny village called Glenorchy (pop. 400) and went for a short walkabout in the area which were used in the LOTR films for Lothlorien and Isengard. Very windy and a bit overcast but fun and a huge change from home. Driving on the left does take a bit of getting used to, and the road was a single lane curving up and around the base of the mountains each way the entire distance.
Then we drove back past Queenstown to Arrowtown. Supposedly a recreation of a 150 year old gold mining town, it was really more like, oh, Main St. in Half Moon Bay with upscale eateries, jewelery and clothing stores and a couple of small attractions. Did I mention driving on the left is strange?
Anyway, tomorrow we plan to go on a ferry ride across the lake, check out a huge working farm and ride back. Saturday we fly to Cairns via Sydney!
BillSaysThis 