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Day 12.
After a wet few days it was a relief to arrive in Queenstown where the sun was shining. The drive from Te Anau was long but the last few kilometres along the lake made up for it. Queenstown is a bustling town and from what we could see it's made up of mainly the younger generation.
We had expected a small town with a few shops but this place beat our expectations with swanky restaurants and bars along the waters edge and a whole host of backpacker friendly bars and shops.
We had already arranged to meet with our favourite Swedes, Malin and Mattias, so after parking up we explored the town with them.
Before we came to Queenstown it was recommended that if we only do one activity here it should be the Shotover Jet (a jet boat which propels you through a narrow canyon at extreme speeds), to my horror Matt sneaked out and booked us on it for the following morning.
With a promise of meeting the Swedes later for a famous 'Fergburger', we headed back to our spaceship to find a place to stay. Our initial thoughts were to stay in a doc site out of town but a flier under our windscreen swayed us to stay in a space station 10mins walk away. On walking into reception Matt was rendered speechless as behind the counter was one of his old school friends (yes Matt has finally bumped into someone HE knows over here!), neither knew the other was here.
Before meeting the others we headed back into town where Matt, with eyes bigger than his belly got a massive icecream. However, it was definitely one of the best icecreams we have ever tasted. It was so good the local sparrows were sitting by Matt's hand waiting for any drops!
That evening we experienced a famous 'Fergburger'. We had heard a lot about them from people we had met along the way, but the queue that was constantly outside made us even more curious to try. They definitely lived up to the hype.
Feeling full of tasty food we watched a young French man spray paint a classic cityscape before being tapped on the shoulder to find 2 more Fraser island friends - Katie and Nick. Small world hey. A celebratory drink was then in order.
Day 13.
We awoke early with a mix of nerves (me) and excitement (matt) of the prospect of hurtling down a canyon on a little boat. Before we left we gave Liv and Chris directions to the campsite and headed to the canyon.
The Shotover jet boat was a great experience. The boats have two 270hp water jet engines which displace about 200 litres of water per second and can travel in water only 5cm deep.
Our first dummy run to get us used to the boat resulted in us all climbing back on land and awaiting a new boat as the steering had become locked - not the best thing to have happen and when trying to turn in a narrow canyon.
Take 2 - this time in a safe boat. The driver sure knew how to scare us spinning the boat 360 and bringing us within a few feet of the canyon walls. One spin resulted in my sunglasses flying into the lap of the man next to me! Lucky they didn't go overboard. The speed we travelled at was pretty immense and the whole experience was worth the money. From being a little scared before, after I wanted to do it again!
Full of adrenaline, we headed back to base to show Liv and Chris the sites of Queenstown (as we are now experts!). While rambling we came across Nick who had just arrived back from jumping the Nevis bungy. This wove ideas in both Matt and Chris's heads and after a quick discussion over a Macdonalds they headed into the booking station secretly hoping the lady would have no openings until at least tomorrow. Unfortunately for them, there were two spaces left on the last trip of the day. Both had less than 30mins before the bus arrived to wrap their heads around what they would be doing.
Liv and I decided we should pay to watch - why, I don't know! So we all boarded the bus heading towards 134m of impending doom!
Once there we could see what looked like a rickety cable car suspended over a canyon. We were all placed in harnesses. Matt, after trying to fasten up his own, was fortunately spotted by one of the stewards after getting it completely wrong and was told that his future generations would thank him once it was done up properly. We were then sent to the jumping station in an even smaller metal cage which had a clear floor, giving us all a clear perspective of what the boys would see once on the edge.
Once in the middle of the canyon, suspended by a few wires the boys had their legs strapped together and waited to be called to the hot spot. Matt was up before Chris, he stood on the spot and, not wanting to falter like the girl in front, launched himself off the platform before the man had even finished counting down. I think my heart stopped, I couldn't watch, thankfully Liv could and caught it on film. I swear I was more worried than he was. After bouncing a few times they pulled him up brimming from ear to ear. Matt and Chris both survived the second highest bungy in the world, the Nevis at 134m high.
That night a celebration was in order, so we met Malin and Matthias to taste a devil burger (the Fergburger's arched rival) before heading out for a couple of drinks in town.
Day 14
We packed up our spaceship and headed onto Wanaka knowing that last night may be the last time we see the Swedes. Although, there is always a chance we could bump into them again in Fiji.
Wanaka is stunning. It is more naturally beautiful and less in your face than Queenstown. We walked around the lake and shops before heading to our DOC campsite. Along the way we drove alongside the Wanaka and Hawea lakes. Both of which were as beautiful as each other causing us to stop often to capture the perfect photo. The DOC site was one of the most scenic we have stayed in and after washing our clothes in the lake we took a dip in the turquoise, clear, but very cold water. The only downside was the amount of sand flies trying to eat us, resulting in us having an early night and watching a DVD in bed. The night was so clear and the stars were spectacular, it felt as if we were in the glow worm cave again.
- comments
ashley skew Snr Fantastic Pip glad you are having a great time, no ring yet lol