I fell in love almost immediately after arriving in Queenstown. It has the charm of a small ski city but set in even more beautiful surroundings. Ski season hasn’t started yet so it’s still relatively calm around the town but I was definitely eyeing the condos for sale. We went to a wine tasting store that had really cool wine sample dispensers. You just insert a card, push your selection and it spits out a sample, half-glass or full glass of your choice of wine. Then when you are through you take the card to the counter and pay the balance (ouch!). After wine we walked across the street and ate at Fishbone Restaurant where I had delicious fish and chips and Sarah got oysters. We went to our campground, booked our bungee jump for the next day at noon and I ended the evening by watching some of Lord of the Rings 1, and I actually did recognize some of the New Zealand scenery!
Tuesday the 31st was bungee day. We took a gondola up the hill to the bungee site. We got there about an hour early so we had time to wait, and let our nerves build up. At noon we walked down to the platform. I decided to go first, that way I wouldn’t have to hear Sarah say if it was bad or good. So I went over to the ledge (and the jump we did was called the Ledge, appropriately), and got the harness on. They had me sit on a couch inside the Ledge house until it was my turn. Before I jumped they walked me to the ledge and made me smile (or try to smile) for a picture. I had a death grip on the poor guy who walked me out there. Then it was time to run and jump. It was so scary and I think I was only smiling cause I was glad to still be alive. I don’t remember much of the fall but I’m glad I did it. We had the option to go over and over again if we wanted, but neither of us went more than once.
Getting pulled back up
Couldn't complain about the view!
Couldn't complain about the view!After bungee we ate lunch at this popular place called Fergburger right in the town square, then walked around a bit and finally dragged ourselves away from adorable Queenstown.
We drove over 5 hours, past Te Anau to a campsite close to Milford Sounds. This was a Department of Conservation campsite which only consisted of a port a potty. Yikes. We toughed it out for the night and the next morning woke up early and drove the rest of the way into Milford Sound. On the drive we passed through Homer Tunnel which was hand chiseled out of the mountainside back in the day. It just so happened to be April Fool’s Day and I was reading that there is a naked run through the tunnel each April Fool’s Day, but we didn’t see the race, or any sign of it. We took a cruise through beautiful, serene Milford Sound. The mountains rise straight from the water and there are tons of waterfalls. It was very picturesque but SO windy! After the cruise we had another long drive to Dunedin.
Mitre peak is on the left
Just before the captain put us right up against the waterfall
Rare New Zealand fur seals!
We drove over 5 hours, past Te Anau to a campsite close to Milford Sounds. This was a Department of Conservation campsite which only consisted of a port a potty. Yikes. We toughed it out for the night and the next morning woke up early and drove the rest of the way into Milford Sound. On the drive we passed through Homer Tunnel which was hand chiseled out of the mountainside back in the day. It just so happened to be April Fool’s Day and I was reading that there is a naked run through the tunnel each April Fool’s Day, but we didn’t see the race, or any sign of it. We took a cruise through beautiful, serene Milford Sound. The mountains rise straight from the water and there are tons of waterfalls. It was very picturesque but SO windy! After the cruise we had another long drive to Dunedin.
Mitre peak is on the left
Just before the captain put us right up against the waterfall
Rare New Zealand fur seals! This morning we went to the Cadbury factory in Dunedin for a tour. Cameras weren’t allowed inside but it was really neat and smelled awesome, like chocolate! There was even a giant chocolate waterfall at the end. We also got samples along the way, then access to a discount store. I bought enough chocolate to last me until Christmas! I like Cadbury chocolate so much more than Hershey. America needs to jump on the Cadbury train!
Railway Station: 2nd most photographed building in the Southern Hemisphere or something....2nd to Syndey Opera House
After the tour we drove over to Baldwin St, the steepest street in the world. I tried to jog up it but it was so steep and the chocolate was weighing me down. We did walk all the way to the top and took some cool pictures.
A few years ago a girl got in a wheelie bin (aka trashcan with wheels) and went down the street but tragically died. Its seriously steep.
After that we said goodbye to Dunedin and drove towards Timaru. We stopped on the way to see the famous spherical boulders on the beach. The rocks are perfectly round due to some phenomenon involving limestone (sorry I don’t have details, there weren’t any signs explaining it…). The pancake rocks (seen in my previous post) also involved limestone. My question is: Texas is full of limestone, so why don’t we have any of these cool rock formations?
Now we are in Timaru for the night. Tomorrow we will continue to head north towards Christchurch! Enjoy the photos!
After that we said goodbye to Dunedin and drove towards Timaru. We stopped on the way to see the famous spherical boulders on the beach. The rocks are perfectly round due to some phenomenon involving limestone (sorry I don’t have details, there weren’t any signs explaining it…). The pancake rocks (seen in my previous post) also involved limestone. My question is: Texas is full of limestone, so why don’t we have any of these cool rock formations?Now we are in Timaru for the night. Tomorrow we will continue to head north towards Christchurch! Enjoy the photos!
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