Blogs from Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 130

So since leaving home a week ago I've had some interesting adventures. First I went to Canberra and Sydney and caught up with some family and friends I hadn't seen for quite a while (3 years in some cases!) which was great and then early monday morning I flew from Sydney to Queenstown via Auckland - or that was how it was supposed to be anyway! The flight to Auckland was uneventful and I had a whole row to myself which was great. getting off at Auckland I was questioned by the security x-ray guys about the "perfectly round thing" in my bag so I took out my contact juggling ball and gave him a quick demo ;) Then while waiting for the connecting flight to Queenstown an announcement comes over the loud speaker saying that ... read more

After going back on myself on the Milford road (through the cool tunnel and avalanche zone again!) Ian and I were now heading north. First stop was Queenstown. Now everybody absolutely raves about this place, and yes it is a 'happening' place compared to most of the little towns in New Zealand, but I personally found it too commercial and cramped. It covers such a small area and there is just so much packed into it! There's also heaps of people walking about in their designer ski-wear and mirrored sunnies looking cool as. Anyway..the scenery around Queenstown is just stunning. Mountains all around you with water below..that certainly makes up for it... On arrival in Queenstown we drove up this dirt track on a hill. Using $1 coins you could buy animal feed and give heaps ... read more

Check it out! Less than 2weeks and I'm managing to put in an update! First up, thank you to everyone who sent birthday messages/emails/e-cards/snail mail... they all contributed to make the distance between most of us (i.e. a couple of oceans/continents) a great deal smaller. Thank you. Just to clarify wuickly for a few people who seem confused: -All this started on June 12th when i flew out from London, pretty much straight to NZ, the rest of my movements are yet to be decided (though if you want the insode info, odds on favourite for next destination is Bondi Beach Australia in November.) -My job at Dux de Lux is that of a bartender within the restaurant... so the lovely waitresses take people's orders, they pop up for me at the bar, I make the ... read more

So we left Wanaka behind, Tom's flu was clearing up nicely (now only a severe cough), and off through the frosty hills and valleys towards Queenstown. A great little drive, surrounded by mountains and steep sided valleys with a torrent of water sweeping by at the bottom of each - beautiful. On a damp Saturday afternoon Queenstown was a surprisingly pretty, entertaining kind of a town. Like Wanaka there was a huge lake and mountains caked in snow, but in the NZ capital of adventure there was also an endless list of things to do which could almost kill you from bungee jumping, to skydiving, to sitting in a jet rocket attached to a wire swinging through a mountain valley at high speed! ...After avoiding a flea pit of a hostel with the baldest carpets I've ... read more

The road from Fox to Wanaka had been cleared so was open in the morning. We set off with the aim of getting to Wanaka that day. I think I have fallen in love with this Country already. Every few kms down the road there are more beautiful sights to take in and different landscapes to explore. We stopped at a place known as Blue Pools. This involved a nice short walk through the forest and over a small suspension bridge and along a walk way. The pools were not blue that day due to the heavy rainfall over the previous days but they were still lovely and with a little imagination you could see what they would look like in the summer. One of the other stops we made was at Thunder Creek Falls. ... read more