Queenstown

This place is a Nutter's Paradise! There are people falling off, dropping from, gliding away, jogging along, flying above, hovering over, diving under any and all surfaces available in this 3-dimensional landscape every time you turn your head. The place is a vista of lakes, mountains and fiords and I fear our pictures and videos will not do it justice. We pre-booked three nights here but both agree that a week would be better.

The drive up was a sedate affair (Linda drove) passing fields of ubiksheep, orchards of plums, apricots, nectarines, apples, peaches, and you name it, rivers and streams and, higher up, lakes and bridges and rolling hills. We passed Alexandra and Cromwell, both friendly looking towns in the morning sun (but I bet every motel had a "no vacancy" sign). We arrived at Queenstown in good time in the afternoon and booked into our motel, about 6 kliks from the town centre. Adjacent to that is the Shotover River and, very conveniently, a power boat ride station. Couldn't resist it. I left Linda on the bank holding the camcorder and, with around a dozen others, donned my lifejacket and went for a half hour tumble-and-spin up and down the Shotover (the name says more than I can put into words). I have to admit, while I was not holding on to the seat bar for grim life, the view of the canyon in the afternoon light was awesome but, at 70 miles an hour and sometimes inches away from the cliff, my attention was distracted somewhat. No pictures, I'm afraid, but Linda got some video of our triumphant return.

A more sedate ride up the gondola later that afternoon gave us a view of Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown town. Breathtaking, really (I could wax lyrical for pages but it wouldn't add anything to the description of the experience so I'll spare you that - here's a picture instead). Done enough for one day; time for a beer on the hotel patio and a quick plate of ribs for supper. Think we're going to like this place . . .