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Published: February 3rd 2007
Hello!
After the last blog, Bishop and I spent another day in Dunedin and saw the only castle in NZ, Larnoch Castle. It was built by a wealthy banker and politician in the late 1800's who had a very rough family life which probably caused him to take his life.
After Dunedin, we headed west to Queenstown, our final destination. This town is much more "Americanized" than anything else we've seen in NZ. The stores and restaurants are open late (in other cities, they stop serving dinner around 9:00) and there's much more activity going on. On our first day there, we went paragliding, a truly beautiful experience. It was a little disconcerting to be running down a mountain, but it's really great when you realize that your feet are no longer on the ground. We were up in the air around 15 minutes and got to see some beautiful countryside. Our guides took up a camera and were able to take some neat footage of us up in the air. After this, we took a horseback ride through some areas that were used for the Lord of the Rings movies. We even were able to trot. My horse
The view from my hotel room in Queenstown
Me with my pack on, ready to head home...was evidently the troublemaker in the group - the guide kept telling stories of how he would bite and kick other horses. Needless to say, this is not what I wanted to hear. We made it through ok, though. It was really beautiful scenery, but my hindquarters were glad that the ride wasn't too long.
The next day, we tried to go white water rafting, but the water levels weren't high enough, so we went river surfing. Essentially, you are riding a boogie board down a river with a bunch of rapids. I quickly found that this is not the activity for me. I wasn't able to get my boogie board to go where I should, so I often had to be "rescued" by one of the guides as I was sailing down the river. I was very glad to get back onto land. Bishop loved it, but I think I'll be fine forgoing this activity in the future. The interesting thing is, there are only 3 rivers in the world where you can do this, the Karawau River (here in Queenstown), the Zambizi, and the Nile. After that experience, I decided to take one of the jetboat rides.
They are super fast boats that thrill the riders with dramatic close-calls and 360 degree turns. It was a lot of fun - it's hard to comprehend how they don't run into the rocks of the canyons.
Today it is Sunday here, and I am heading home this afternoon. It's been a fabulous trip and I am sad to leave. Hopefully I will make it back here again one day, but I am grateful for the opportunity and experiences I have had. I have LOTS of pictures, so hopefully I'll have the opportunity to show you all. I may post a few more on this blog when I get home, but other than that, this should be it for the blog. It's been fun!
My best to you all,
Cari
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Fred~
non-member comment
Awesome Blog of your trip Cari~
Your Dad shared your blog with me after he told me of your trip "down south". Having traveled to many parts of the world myself (retired Navy), New Zealand NOT being one of them, I found your sharing a beautiful experience. Always amazes when I see the diverse cultures and landscape no matter where I have been. From your sharing, New Zealand is on my list of things to do in my lifetime. Thanks so much for making this available ~ I think National Geographic needs you :). Take care and thanks again. Friend of Dad's....... Fred ~