Hello all for the final time in NZ,
Last night we had a lovely dinner at ‘Pub on Wharf’. Rob had a chicken Parma and I had a huge fish pie! There were no tables inside so while we ate we sat next to a fire outside. We lucked out and got a table after we ate, so spent the next few hours enjoying a drink and the live music. We had a bit of a laugh at other peoples’ drunken dancing. It was a fun night :)
Today we had another lie in and then headed out for some aimless walking. It’s been a nice mix here in Queenstown. We’ve had plenty of things booked and plenty of excitement, but then our last couple of days have been at a nice leisurely pace.
We headed off to the gardens again but explored the middle of them including the rose garden and ice skating rink (looks like it’s been having work done and it reopens tomorrow). It started to rain quite heavily while we were there which was a shame, so we headed to Patagonia coffee shop and enjoyed a mochaccino while sitting upstairs with a view. It rained a fair bit and when we first arrived you could barely see the mountains due to mist. But after a little while this started to clear up so we headed outside.
We got another pie each at the Ferg Bakery and then enjoyed it on the lake wall. After this we walked even further down the lake than we did yesterday. We walked past the touristy area in town and ended up in a really beautiful quiet bit where hardly any people were. From here we saw the Earnslaw travel around a couple of times and enjoyed sunny views of the mountains. There isn’t nearly as much snow about today, and there didn’t appear to be any up Queenstown Hill where we were yesterday.
Now we are having a bit of a chill in our room before we head out for a final Fergburger at 4.30. We’ve booked to go to the movies at 6 and think we’ll go for a drink afterwards.
Tomorrow, our plane leaves at 3.30pm Queenstown time and we get back to Melbourne about 5pm. I won’t post tomorrow because we will just be having a quick wander before we get the bus to the airport.
We have had an absolutely awesome time here in NZ. We’ve had a great mix of sun, rain and snow. We’ve done beautiful drives, caught up with Rob’s family, eaten yummy food, jumped off bridges and seen and done a heap more! It won’t be the last time I come here that’s for sure. We are very lucky in Aus to have NZ a short flight away.
Thanks for reading while we’ve been over here. I’ll be back positing again in June/July when Mum and I head to the Balkans for a European summer - can’t wait!!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
Hello all,
We had a pretty lazy start to the day, enjoying a nice sleep in. It was the first day of the trip that we haven’t had an activity booked or a car or plane to travel on. So we took it fairly easy and started the day by walking along the path to the west which we hadn’t really explored yet.
We were super excited when we left this morning to discover that it had snowed overnight!! After I posted yesterday we had gone for a drink at a local pub, and it had started to pour with rain. So I guess all that rain up on the high mountains turned into snow and gave us the beautiful white we woke up to today!
The views along the water were snowy and beautiful, and we had a laugh swinging on the swings the lake, commentating on how we felt dizzy after only a minute or so of swinging which made us feel old!
Next we went to the Ferg Bakery (next to fergburger) and got ourselves an early lunch. On the way we saw the TSS Earnslaw pull in from a ride. It had its maiden voyage in 1912, the same year as the titanic, and carried cargo mostly at the start of its life. Once roads became more prominent in this area its use deteriorated and it was nearly set to be scrapped in the 1960s. But real journeys purchased the boat and turned it into a lake cruise tourist attraction that still runs to this day.
At the bakery, we each had a steak and cheese pie and a cake. Both were amaaaaazing! Unfortunately the seagulls on the lake wall where we chose to sit thought so too because so many idiot tourists feed them. But Rob came to the rescue and squirted near them with his drink bottle, this got them away pretty fast! Then we got to enjoy our food in peace.
After our early lunch we went back to the room for a quick water bottle top up. Then we hiked to the top of Queenstown Hill. This was a moderately steep climb that took us about 2.5 hours all up with lots of stops along the way to admire the snowy views.
In 2000, a “time walk” loop was added to this track with some information along the way. William Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelman arrived in Queenstown in 1860 thinking it was unoccupied, but the Maori people had been living in this area for years prior. In 1862 gold was discovered and it was said that the “solitude of the lake, the uninhabited gullies and the lonely mountains had passed away forever”. After that time, 26 hotels were built in 1863 and lots of shops. In 1866, Queenstown was declared a municipality and the gardens were established. Then a rush to secure land under the agricultural lease system ensued. Coroner Peak ski resort opened in 1939 and meant that Queenstown became both a summer and winter holiday destination. During World War II, tourism slowed but after the war the government offered free holidays here for returned servicemen and their families. In 1961 the airport was built and nowadays Queenstown is a very popular holiday destination with a plethora of activities to do.
The walk itself was beautiful. We started off walking through forest (which interestingly is made up of pest trees that were introduced and multiply taking over the land from native vegetation). Here we saw a guy proposing to his girlfriend and we awkwardly walked past while we think she said no - eek!!
Then we emerged in a clearing and started hiking towards the summit. There was heaps of snow up top!! Part way up we saw a sculpture called the ‘Basket of Dreams’ and then enjoyed panoramic views up the top. At this point we were very glad we brought warm clothes because it was verrrry cold! On our descent via the loop track we trekked through very dense and dark forest and saw lots of toadstools. Overall we really enjoyed the walk and the snowy views today were lovely.
As a reward on the way down we went back to Ferg Bakery and enjoyed a yummy ice cream which we also ate sitting on the lake wall.
Tonight we are going to a pub for dinner. We aren’t sure what we are doing for our final day tomorrow yet as it is meant to rain, but we are going to check the weather out in the morning and go from there.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
Hello all,
We had a crazy adrenaline filled day...including a surprise activity I hadn’t mentioned!!
This morning we walked to the activity centre and caught the 8.30am bus to the Shotover jets. It started to snow while we were driving!! Unfortunately for us, the other people on our boat were no shows, and the boat can’t go without four people minimum. So we had to wait half an hour for the next boat - but it was worth it!
It was FREEZING! Whizzing through the canyon at top speeds of 85km/h with splash back, 360s and huge dips was so cold in the 2 degree weather, but so much fun! We sat in the front and screamed our heads off. I had only just made the height limit for the front seat and I could see why - my feet barely touched the end so it was hard to press myself against the seat for the 360 degree turns! Pair that with my dodgy right hand and it made for an interesting ride, flying out of my seat a little now and then. Lots of fun, but I was very glad I had brought my beanie and gloves. The shotover jets have been running since 1965 and they’ve recently started upgraded the boats at Christmas, apparently the one we were in was a prototype and the other ones like it coming in the next month with have heated hand rails!!
Then it was back to the activity centre and my nerves really began. We were weighed and had lots of numbers written on our hands. Before we left Aus we decided we wanted to do the Nevis swing - the highest canyon swing in the world dropping down into a 160m canyon with 70m of freefall. For some reason, booking that didn’t phase me too much, but I had always said I could never do a Bungy jump. The activity centre told us because of our existing bookings we would get a 45% discount on the Kawarau Bridge Bungy. Rob booked in straight away on Sunday night but I agonised and worried about it until last night when I finally booked it.
So this morning when I woke up, I had a headache (I assume from dreaming and worrying) and felt really nervous and sick. I hate half a bowl of cereal for brekky, and could only bring myself to eat a banana until it was all over.
We got back on the bus and headed to Nevis first. We got on and the guide said “how are we all feeling?!” I felt like bursting into tears, but the Americans on our bus all went “YEAHHH! Good!” The guide said “hold on to that good feeling, because it will disappear!”
Rob had been really good all day. He put on some music to psych us (mostly me!) up and kept hugging me. Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t hysterical or anything, but anyone that knows me well knows I’m a huuuuuge stresshead, and today was no exception!!
The stupid thing is this isn’t exactly my first rodeo. I’ve skydived, cliff dived 20m, hang glided, parasailed, swum in Devil’s Pool, hot air ballooned and ridden a bike down the Bolivian Death Road. But for some reason, Bungy jumping has always freaked me out. I blame the American woman who went crazy at Kawarau bridge while we watched when I was 7! Traumatised for life.
Until we arrived, I wasn’t really nervous for the Nevis Swing. But when we walked the 20m suspension bridge blowing in the wind, a few tears let loose. We were behind a couple of people/groups so watched them. Then it was our turn. We got all strapped up, then the universe played a cruel joke on us. The cameras were having technical issues. So we had to sit ON THE EDGE, staring at the huge drop, for FIVE MINUTES! The guy was brilliant. He knew I was scared, so talked to me about work etc and then when our time finally came, he didn’t even count us down. He just threw us off and we plummeted the 70m freefall. I’m surprised Rob isn’t deaf I screamed that loud!! The swing itself was awesome fun. The anticipation and waiting around were the worst part! The couple after us were insane and went down upside down.
We waited for the next shuttle bus and then caught the bus to Kawarau Bridge. The negative self talk started but I tried to stop it. There were a few “I don’t think I can do this” moments. Rob walked to the viewing platform to film me and away I went. I got strapped in, and the same questions were asked of me again. “How are you feeling?” (Terrified!), “what do you do for work?” (Cue the guy trying to talk Maths to me about weights and angles to do with Bungy!). A few more tears escaped at this point, and I told the two guys looking after me that I was absolutely petrified. They must get this a lot, because they were awesome too. One slowly got me to the edge of the tiny platform, and encouraged me to let go of the handle I was hanging onto for dear life. Then it was time to jump. The people who chicken out are the ones who don’t go when the jump masters count them down. I looked at the bridge straight in front of me, leaned forward and jumped on the “3” in “3, 2, 1”. The feeling was weird. Once again I screamed my head off (I have a sore throat now!!) but it was so strange hurtling towards the ground and then whoosh the cord catches you. I was hesitant due to a previous sore back, but because this one is “only” 43m high it wasn’t too bad, and the cord was actually pretty smooth. Then a little boat comes out and they scoop you up in it. Rob went after me and didn’t scream at all. We were both very proud of ourselves!!
I’ve now ticked off just about every adrenaline activity available which I’m pretty happy about. Hopefully now I never have to have the awful nervous feeling I had today!!!
We’ve had a fantastic day but I’m very much looking forward to sleeping much better tonight, and not worrying about Bungy or anything else. We haven’t really got much planned for our final 2.5 days so are going to chill out, walk around and go out for a celebratory “we survived!” drink tonight.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
PS: Just saw on the news there has been lots of snow in mountainous areas in the north island as well as 10cm of snow at Tekapo where we drove through on Friday. Glad we aren't driving there now! Hard to believe it was 24 there last week. Apparently a very cold winter is expected this year after quite a warm summer for NZ.
