Whirlwind Queenstown

Now where was I before... oh yes, Queenstown is incredible! It's situated along Lake Wakatipu which was carved out and fed by glaciers. It apparently wasn't as green before a recent landslide, but I think the color is fantastic, and I'll be bombarding you with lots of pictures of it. Mountains jut straight up from the lake on all sides, so there was barely any flat ground for the airport!

Queenstown itself is definitely a tourist town. Every other storefront is representing some sort of adventure activity - skydiving, bungy jumping, jet boats, scenic cruises, ziplining, you name it. Realizing the extent of the commercialization has made me less enthusiastic about the city itself, but the scenery really can't be beat.

When I first got in, I couldn't check in to my hostel yet, so I dropped off my bags and took a walk along the lakeshore. After I'd unpacked a bit and reorganized, I took a hike up one of the peaks that started less than a five minute walk from my hostel. It happened to be a very commercialized one, so my trail crossed mountain biking paths and a zipline course, and then I saw the top of the gondola line and a "luge" course at the top, but of course lots of amazing views as well.

Walking in the park at lake-level

View at the midpoint of the hike

Panorama at the top

This morning I got up early for my adventure of the day - hang gliding! It was not something I anticipated doing in Queenstown, but after looking at the options, I decided it would be really cool. A van took us from the storefront in town up to a nearby peak, and I got outfitted in a pretty intense harness. My instructor said all I had to do was follow his steps and he and the kite would do the rest. So I got strapped in, we positioned ourselves frighteningly close to the edge of the peak, and with probably less than five running steps we were airborne. I got to put my arms out and pretend to be a bird while he steered, and we did some exciting spirals and swoops over the 3 km long, 700m descent. Woohoo!

Getting suited up

Ready to go!

Practicing the flying position

Other fliers coming in for a landing

Later in the day I caught shuttle vans for the jet boat company and one of the bungy jumping companies to watch those happen. The jet boat is a very fast, very agile boat that whips down a river and through a canyon, and was in a very picturesque setting. The bungy jumping location was a bridge over a river where I could really get up and close to watch. I got to hear every scream and squeal and was very glad that it wasn't me doing the jump.

Jetboat spectator area

After dinner with some hostel friends, I took a walk in the Queenstown gardens, which lead to more beautiful scenery and more of an appreciation for the possibility of being a resident in the city.

Public lakefront area. Cold water.

Rose garden and slackliners

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Fiordland where I'll be doing my first work exchange. I'm catching a bus to Milton Sound and then getting a helicopter ride into my work location. I'll be serving as assistant staff in the Martin's Bay Lodge of the Hollyford Track touring company. The location is purposefully remote because it's one of the stops that hiking groups come to along their multi-day guided tours, and it's also used for business retreats where they want people to focus. I'll be helping out wherever they need me - cleaning rooms, making beds, cooking, getting rid of cobwebs, and gardening were a few of the possibilities they listed. I'll probably be off the grid for most of the next two weeks, but there is a possibility of email access. Otherwise, I'll be back in Queenstown on Feb 7. Until then!