Queenstown

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So, New Zealand. It took me twenty-eight hours to get here (twenty-one in the air), but I made it. Airport adventures included a visual inspection of the bag with my scuba camera at Pearson, a spot check of my hands for traces of explosives at Vancouver as well as four or five security personnel wandering around the departure area randomly checking passengers for their ID. The flight from Auckland to Queenstown was almost cancelled because of the weather (just before take-off, the pilot informed us that we may be diverted). For the most part, the flight was uneventful. For the most part. The airport at Queenstown is reached by swinging around and through a valley. On the approach, the captain informed us that he would be landing by GPS. Yep, we were descending through thick cloud, so he didn't have a visual of the approach. Here we go. I caught glimpses of the valley through the clouds before we finally broke through. We were quite low and it seemed like the pilot made a couple of last minute corrections (a couple of jerks to the side and an increase of power to the engine, but we landed without incident.

It was raining when I left the airport. Apparently it had been raining for a couple of days. It was also cold (eleven degrees) and windy. A great start to my holiday. My initial impression from the drive in from the airport is that every fourth or fifth building is a hotel, hostel, inn, B&B or tour operator. Seriously.

My hostel is right in the heart of Queenstown; a stones through from the lake. Before checking in to the hostel I took a quick walk and around the corner I found myself at Fergs. I had heard about Fergs. Fergs is an institution in Queenstown. People are lined up out the door waiting for their moment of satisfaction. I too stood in line, and I eventually reached the counter, placed my order, and was told it would be fifteen minutes. Five men moved like machines; they were in constant motion. At last they called my number and I had my first Ferg burger. It was big and it was tasty (amazing suace), but sadly, it was just a burger.

By mid-afternoon the sun had come out and I strolled around along the boardwalk at the edge of the lake. A lovely place. Mountains (small mountains or large hills depending on your perspective) ring the town and the edges of the lake. Tour boats of all kinds ply the waters as do jet boats. Pubs, galleries, tour operators, and all the expected touristy type shops line the blocks leading up to the water edge.

My apologies for not being more eloquent or descriptive, but in the past fourty-four hours I've had about two hours sleep. It's 8:00pm and I'm ready for bed. White water rafting tomorrow afternoon and maybe a walk along another section of the lakefront in the morning. I'll be posting photos later.

Goodnight from Queenstown.

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Comments

[Abigail]

Photos!
Am looking forward to the photos, Andrew:)