The day of NO straight roads!
We left Franz Josef at 8 a.m. to continue our trek down the West Coast to the adventure town of Queenstown. I have been sitting in the back of the bus with Grant and Jared because its the best place to sleep. But today on our 6 hour drive, I slightly regretted the decision. With Robbie's driving, up and over mountains, winding along the mountain side following the Tasman Sea and rain coming and going, plus the typical back seat sways; I got a little car sick. I was very thankful for every opportunity to get off at a lookout and be on some solid ground along the way.
Today, we kind of had to push it as well to get to Queenstown because Heather had to be to the airport by 3:30 p.m. to get back to Christchurch for a wedding. She made it on time and then we got settled into our backpackers for a three night stay with two full days of excitement in the tourist town of Queenstown.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, we headed to "The Station" to book all of our desired excursions from bungy jumping, sky diving, parasailing, jet boating, nevis swing, paddle boarding, etc. They have basically every activity available. We got a pretty decent discount by working with a local hookup named Squid, born and raised Queenstown local. He was very helpful when it came to questions and deciding which outfitter to use. Not really sure what his job is but he works with all of the outfitter companies and EVERYONE knows who Squid is.
I signed up for the Skippers Canyon Scenic Tour and Jet Boating for tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.. This gave me the morning to sleep in and do some blogging, etc.
That evening LaNae, Grant, Jared, Logan, and I tried Fergburger which were supposedly the best and biggest burgers in town. I definitely agreed! It was absolutely delcious and ginormous! I was soooo full after that burger though that I was almost uncomfortable for the rest of the evening, but it was worth it!
Later, we played a wee bit of Pitch and then headed to bed around midnight.
DAY 13
Like I mentioned, I got to sleep in a little and enjoyed some breakfast before heading to The Hub to get a little bit caught up on my blog.
At 11:45, Grant and I took the 10 minute walk into town to find some lunch before going on the Skippers Canyon Scenic Tour and Jet Boating excursion which departed at 1:00 p.m. We ate a PJ's Fish and Chips and the cashier was originally from Bloomington, Minnesota! It's a small world!
Boarded the bus and began probably the most gorgeous scenic tour yet! It is hard to describe the beauty of the route to and through the canyon and not to mention the fact that we had absolutley beautiful weather. We have been very fortunate in the aspect on this trip.
The path we followed was an old mining road winding up and down, around, and through the mountain. Very steep edges and what we would consider a one lane, minimum maintenance road they called two lanes and we met several vehicles that seemed a wee bit to close for our comfort.
The owners of this tour is a family owned business that has been operating for nearly 100 years and is in its 5th generation. They have lived in the canyon panning for gold and living a very isolated life without running water, plumbing, electricity, etc. My boat drivier is the 5th generation and is considered the youngest, most experienced jet boater in New Zealand at the age of 30 with more than 40,000 hours behind the wheel. He was currently lives on the homestead and was home schooled via walkie talkie. He was very trusting behind the wheel bringing us just centimeters from the canyon walls and spinning us in thrilling 360s on rather shallow water.
Along the bus ride, our guide pointed out areas where certain scenes from Lord of the Rings were filmed. Some of these included the rock formations that created the Gates of Mordor. The river we were on, Shotover River, is where the Black Riders on their horses get swept away by the giant wave that comes around the corner. Also, I have a picture of the exact spot on the cliff where Aragorn falls of the cliff during the Warg Battle. It was pretty intersting! Also, all fo the guides got o play some of the different warrior roles in the movies since they were filming on their land.
This afternoon was seriously the most enjoyable part of the trip so far!!!!
That evening we all ate pizze at The Hub before heading into Queenstown for the Big Night Out, which is an organized pub crawl with free shots, drink deals, and pizza. It was quite a bit of fun, especially the Ice Bar getting to wear parkas and drinking from ice glasses. It was a late night to say the least since bars don't close till 4 a.m. and everyone was feeling pretty good before bed. I was so glad that Grant and I stopped at McDonalds for some burgers. Pretty sure that's what saved me from a terrible hangover considering I was drinking beer and vodka sprites! This has really been the only night I have really drank on the trip because it is so expensive that I thought I'd save my money and spend it on something worthwhile.
DAY 14
Should have slept in but got up at 8:30 to head to town to do some shopping. Walked around with LaNae, Courtney, and Morgan and we were able to find some good stuff to bring home for our families.
For lunch LaNae and I ordered a Hawaiian pizze from Hell's Pizza for take away, yes take away is equivalent to our to go. We went and sat along the wharf in the sun and had fun feeding our crust to a duck, but stopped when all the seagulls arrived.
I had some time to kill before meeting at The Station at 2:10 to go up to the Nevis Swing. I had an impulse buy yesterday before leaving for Skippers Canyon. I got Anastasia convinced to do it with me! YONZO right?! (You Only New Zealand Once instead of You Only Live Once). Since I had some time I went back to Pinewood Lodge grabbed my towel and laid out in the sun for 45 minutes. I got a wee bit burnt but got to soak it up while I can because it won't be long and I'll be back in 30 degree weather. :(
The Nevis Swing is a 300 meter arc in a canyon that starts with a 70 meter free fall drop. I was a bit scared to do it but became more excited after hearing how exhilarating it was from everyone else who had already gone. So at 2:10, Anastasia, Grant, Jared, and I got checked in and hopped on the bus at 2:45 to head to the Nevis Playground. The last road up and over into the canyon was by far the steepest climb we've had yet! As we arrived at the top, they stopped the bus for us to watch the swing. Ironically it was Sidney and Kathleen from our group.
Got into the office, hit the toilets one last time, and walked across the cable suspended bridge to the floating Nevis Swing. We waited for three groups to go before us an then it was Grant and Jared's turn. We borrowed Dr. Jones' Go Pro for the event to get video of our "choice words" and it was pretty entertaining to listen to/watch that evening.
The boys went and were being brought back in but they couldn't get it lined up right to catch them so they had to be let out and brought back in four times before they caught on the fifth time! Anastasia and I thought they were just trying to pysche us out until they had to do it to us once. But before that happened we were in our harnesses and clamped onto the swing. Phil was the operator and he was a funny entertaining fella. He asks each group if you want a countdown or to be surprsied. We ahd a better plan, after we yelled "Go Big Red" he could release us. The video proves that we didn't get the chant completely finished but it ahs been a hit with the group as I think it was played like 30+ times that night at our spaghetti supper.
I was so exhausted by this time that I took a shower and was in bed by 10 p.m.
Queenstown was a lot of fun and is definitely a tourist trap, but I sure would not mind living there. It is down in a valley beside water and mountains with so much to do and not to mention vineyards and orchards everywhere! It reminds me a lot of Whitefish, Montana.
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