Queenstown

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Weather and windscreens

On the drive from Lake Tekapo to Mount Cook the once-clear skies began to change and we drove right into a storm, meaning we decided to skip hanging around and head straight for Queenstown in the hope that the weather was better down there.

The weather in Queenstown was great and we drove into the pretty town with its gorgeous mountain views centrepiece of the vast lake and remembered why we enjoyed our stay here so much the last time. The first task was to fix a crack in the windscreen which we thought had occurred during our drive as we didn't see it when we left (and obviously became worried about how much this was going to cost) but on taking the van to the window repairs place the guy told us the crack must have been there before as it had already been fixed. With that sorted we walked around the town, buying some more thick layers as it was freezing, and a walk around the pretty park and along the lake up to the town of Frankton, almost buying a house in the process.

A random encounter

On our second night we decided to save some money again and free camp along a quiet residential street near the lake where we had walked earlier and where we assumed we would be alright for the night and undisturbed considering no houses overlooked the spot. However as the night drew on and we were in bed we heard a car pull up next to us, some people get out (who we didn't manage to see) and a bit later get back in and drive slowly off. Now seeing as there was nothing else around us we decided on getting out of there rather than risking another visit by a policeman and a hefty fine for parking on the street so after a tiring drive through a forest in the pitch black we pulled up to a basic D.O.C campsite and spent the night there.

The following days we explored the area and the goldrush town of Arrowtown which had a great museum highlighting the history of the area as well as the hardships faced by the early pioneers and settlers. On the last day the weather turned bad again so we decided to set off up the coast in the hope that by the time we had got up to the glaciers the weather would have picked up slightly.

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Photos

Praying the van doesn't break down
Don't do this to us God

On the way to Queenstown
Cold