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Hey there folks,
Another week gone by in QTNZ, now been away for over 6 months and in Queenstown for exactly two months today. It has flown by. Just a hint of the plans for the future, I'm after some more adventures, lovely as new zealand is and i am having an amazing time here but it's all a bit too easy over here so plans are being made for somewhere warm and a bit more challenging...will keep you all updated!
As i sit here now i am having a breather from cleaning my bosses kitchen, i do believe it is worse than any of my student kitchens, i never thought i'd be saying that. It's her last day today though so this is the last chance for free internet and slacker days before the new bosses come, not looking forward to that at all. And for the second time in one week it's goodbye to a front line position and all the associated perks........most upsetting! I am hoping i'll be able to charm my way around that small problem though 😊
Yet again just one day off this week, but it was a most delightful one. Cashing
in on some contacts made a long time ago i rang up one of the flightseeing companies and managed to 'wing' my way onto a flight over to Milford sound. Those attentive bloggers amogst you will remember that this is where Claire 2.0, Jeff, Brian and i drove to a few weeks ago in the vanette, a meaty six hour drive one way at that. Taking a plane is soooooo much easier darling...! Set off at 10am in a tiny little plane, capacity 10 people and it was only half full, and flew north west up over the Shotover river and Glenorchy, was brilliant to see it all from the air. All too soon we were approaching the Sound (flights only take 35 mins!) flying at a very modest 7000ft. As we swooped down the views were amazing, especially at the end of the sound over the Tasman sea, beautiful blue skies mixing in with a misty coast line, couldnt have asked for a better day to go flying.
With all the excitment of the flight i almost forgot about the actually cruise it was leading to, what is it they say....it's not about the destination it's about the
journey to get there. So we jumped onto a boat, quite a big beast this time, not as nice as the Lady Bowen it has to be said. As we cruised up the sound we were lucky enough to be stalked by a pod of dolphins, the little critters jumped around in the bow water to elict the compulsary ohhhs and ahhs and far too many photos of sea and no dolphin! I didnt have my hippo crew with me this time so spent a lot more time quietly appreciating the stunning scenery (interrupted by the japanese and english commentry quite frequently unfortunately). Met some nice people on board though who seemed to be loving the english accent so hammed that one up a bit! The waterfalls were a little bigger than before as we've had a bit more rain to nourish them, no ducking into them this time though.
An hour and a half later and it was time to get back on the plane....wooohooo! This time we flew to the south of the sound to loop back to QT. Flying over the sea again, over the Routeburn track (one of the 'great walks') ........... flew over the
homestead where Helen and i sheared sheep and ate scones a couple of weeks ago and all too soon it was time to land. Saw some awe inspiring sights up in the plane; huge snow drifts, alpine lakes, mist drenched valleys, cloud piercing summits and lakes so calm they perfectly mirrored the mountains surrounding them......doubling the view! Sweet as as the kiwis would say.
Back to the hostel and finally got to go up the gondola which over looks QT, another high altitude adventure! Headed over with new friends Jen and Tiffany to ride up and watch the sunset over the lake before sneaking into a very very VERY touristy haka show. Was good to see but did feel somehow dirty after for being part of such a manufactured performance of culture. Yes i realise i am a tourist and thus should not look down too snootily from my high horse should i fall off. Swooning over one of the performers in particular kept us entertained although we were most upset to find out later that his name was actually Rodney....one of the least moari names imaginable!
And so that brings me up to date, now i have
to resume the scrubbing, hurrah. On a domestic note there has been a new craze sweeping the hostel...baking! Jen and i have now made scones, flapjacks and crumble (renamed 'slop', too much juice!) to varying degrees of sucess. The crumble was given a 10 on 10 for taste though i believe from marc.....am not going to say what the presentation got! Tonights activity is cake baking, what crazy lives we lead!
Hope everyone is well at home, some special mentions...
A big happy birthday to Grandad in Rotherham, I hope that bottle of whiskey is going down well, all in moderation eh grandad!
Good luck and have some excellent adventures to Kazmondo who has just left for South America. Will be checking your blog kaz to see what mischief you get up to.......and if any other cov peeps wants to check out crazy karen's Equadorian adventures here's the link....
www.travelblog.org/bloggers/kazmondo
Nice to talk to you mum and dad, even if dad was more concerned with his lunch cooking! Good luck in the exam on monday.
Lastly big thanks for the piccies Rach, was so nice to see myself looking posh for once!
Dolphin
There is one there if you look carefully! Love Claire xxx
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marc
non-member comment
Still at liquor king
yep still there whilte all the excitement goes on. but its good one of us is doing the things. maybe one day i'll do something toursity. ace pics dude.