Queenstown

Nestled away in between the Southern Alps and the Remarkables is Queenstown. Instantly I thought it reminded me of a smaller Lake Tahoe. Queenstown is where all the hustle and bustle is at. It is where you can go bungy jumping, try the Canyon Swing, jetboat, river raft you name it. However, all the above can add up in your pocket book. Plus the town has lots of great shops, places to eat and a well-established nightlife. I arrived later in the evening, so I spent my first night getting a bite to eat and checking out a local Irish Pub. I am not sure why, but I tend to be drawn to Irish Pubs. The next morning I made my way down near the “beach,” which isn’t really a beach. So far the only sand I have found on the South Island was in Abel Tasman. Then that afternoon I went white water rafting. It was so much fun. You start off taking a bus ride on the 11th most dangerous road in the world. Luckily I wasn’t sitting by a window. There is a steep river gorge, and the road is windy, narrow and gravel. The river is called the Shotover and the rapids are grade 3-5. I have been rafting down a river many times, but never with a guide. So all the technical terms were new to me. After the safety talk, I’ll admit I was a bit nervous. Could this river really be worse than anything else I’ve been on? I remember the Kern, I remember tubing the Truckee in 2011. The guide was awesome. He was an American originally  from Missouri but was living in Colorado before coming to New Zealand. The rafting trip was a success; no one from our boat fell out and we all had an awesome time. Besides going through some wicked rapids, we went through a tunnel and then down a small waterfall. I bought the footage. I can’t wait to check it out. While rafting, we saw someone on the canyon swing. The cliff is 109 meters high, and you fall 60 meters and then swing for 200. Watching the man swing it didn’t look as scary to me from below. We’ll see how my pocket book looks after the next few weeks. My second day is Queenstown was a lazy day. I did go paddle boarding, but I also did laundry and took some naps. I explored more around Queenstown and yeah, this town isn’t very big. However, there are some outskirt areas I plan to explore when I return. I tried out the infamous Fergburger. I went earlier in the evening so the wait wasn’t as long. It was good but massive. I couldn’t eat the whole thing, and I never like reheating anything that has avocado on it. I think next time I will try the basic cheeseburger. My time in Queenstown was short but sweet. It gave me an idea of the town, and what I would like to do when I return. My next destination was Te Anau which is the gateway to the Milford Sound and the Kepler track. I have planned to hit up both.