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Arrived in Queenstown at 7pm, dumped stuff off in my hostel then went and had pizza, chocolate pancakes and a beer for dinner in a restaurant... Mmmm. Most backpackers don't live like this, most i meet can't afford to do anything once they get to places, and can only afford packet noodles for dinner. Oh well. Ha ha. But saying that I don't eat out all the time, i've been having noodles and tins of beans for tea too...
Because i arrived in the dark you can't see what the place is like, the next morning i went into the kitchen to see the most amazing view from the huge window of the lake and mountains. Cool. The first day there i went up in the cable car to the top of a mountain, with cool views of Queenstown. It was v chilly up there though. There was a luge up at the top too - a concrete winding track which you hurtle down in a plastic wheeled cart. As expected there was the usual yelping and whimpering from me but it was loads of fun and had 2 runs down the track. In the afternoon i got a relaxing boat trip around the lake on the Million Dollar Cruise boat (made in Colchester apparently, long way away for it to be). In the evening I went to an ice bar called Minus 5 degrees. Bundled up in big coat and gloves you spent 30 mins in a bar made of ice. Even the glasses and tables are made of ice. Cool. Literally. And the actual temperature was minus 7 degrees, not 5!
The next day i was picked up at 6.30am (yes i love early-ness...) for a day trip to Milford Sound. It was an amazingly sunny day and saw some really cool sights along the way - huge snowy mountains and mirror lakes. The bus man said it was one of the best days he's seen for a while and even got his camera out even though he goes every day. They have 6-7m of rain a year, so we were really lucky to have a sunny day. Once we got to Milford Sound (a Sound is where rivers meet the sea, but this was where glaciers met the sea so in fact it is a Fiord not a Sound. Apparently.) Anyway, we cruised up the the Sound to see loads of waterfalls, and craggy rocks (the main picture) . The view was amazing. Then when we turned back we saw a seal on a rock posing for us, then further on a pod of dolphins. Again the boat man said it was the largest pod he'd seen there. They came really near the boat and jumped up. Just like flipper. It was a really good day, but very tiring getting back at 8pm. Especially sharing a dorm with annoying english youths chatting and being loud until late.
My last day in Queenstown i did my laundry in the morning, then in the afternoon went to Arrowtown, a nearby gold mining town, which looked lovely with the autumn colours on the trees. They had original huts used by the Chinese in 1860's (that's really old history for NZ....) . And i had a nice cup of tea and a brownie sat in the autumn sun.
Queenstown is renowned for it's adrenalin fuelled activities like bungying, rafting, skydiving. But i'd rather drink tea and eat cake!!
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