Blogs from Queenstown, Otago, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 4

Geo: -45.0311, 168.6637th MayFiordland and Milford Sound. We'd seen the brochure pictures with blue sky and snow-capped peaks - our experience was slightly different but equally impressive. We set off from Queenstown by coach at 6.55 while it was still dark and drove along the valley between Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables Mountains. Gradually as it got light we saw that the tops of the mountains were covered in low cloud which gave them a very forbidding appearance. Our driver was an old hand and full of stories about the place. Despite his jokes about alcoholism and a heart pace-maker we felt we were in safe hands. After two and a half hours we reached Te Anau (Gateway to Fiordland) which sits beside Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in South Island. Groups of intrepid walkers ... read more

A Day in the Life of Living at Rydges Hotel 1. Wake up (unfortunately). 2. Work (definitely). 3. Eat (maybe). 4. Sleep (optional). 5. Repeat. If you're wondering where we've been lately, kindly refer to the above five steps. After loading our entire life into a Toyota, we've now lived in Queenstown and have been working day and night for the past ten days. I would love to have great stories of paragliding or rock climbing for you, but alas, I have only a brief description of our new jobs. Perhaps if we ever get a day off again, we might do some more fun stuff. For now: "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go..." Jeremy and I are "food and beverage attendants" at this fine establishment, which basically means we do anything ... read more

A warm hello to all our friends and family waaay up north, and welcome to our newest blog from Queenstown, New Zealand. We finished our last entry searching around for somewhere to live that wasnt a garage with a bed and a sofa in it, and after a couple of weeks searching through the local rags we spotted a cottage available to rent. Along we went for a viewing, and to our delight it was perfect for what we needed. It is a two bedroomed bungalow with a nice log fire in the living room. When lit, it makes you feel like it is actually winter your experiencing, especially whilst looking out at the snow capped mountains through the big glass doors at the front of the room. The view is even better than the ... read more

It has taken coming to Queenstown to make me realise that not only am I now old, but a total loser. The only reason we had come here was because as we are on a time limit and wanted to get to Milford Sound, Queenstown is the most easily accessible place to get there. We had booked a day trip down to Milford sound and had a couple of days to kill. I had been told by people how touristy it was and its not too bad as its still a really small town. The views are stunning as it is set on a lake with mountains all around which on the last day had snow on the top. The only problem was the constant pressure from advertising to do something "crazy" like bungy jumping/skydiving/whitewater rafting/whitewater ... read more

13 March 2009 Theres snow on the mountain tops around Cromwell. It looks beautiful, but its not a good sign for the harvest. We need warm weather not freezing cold mornings. Luckily there wasn't any frost on the vines. When I booked my tickets a month ago Matt expected the harvest to begin in Mid-March, but now he says it looks like Mid-April. I think I will be able to work in the vineyards until then. My housemate and I just bought a car so now we aren't trapped at home. Thats the way many people who are staying for a few months do it. That way it is usually cheaper than renting because you can get most of the money back when you sell it before you leave. We are working on getting the internet ... read more