Queenstown and Wanaka

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Having been on the road for a little over a week and covered about 1200 kms, we were all anxious to head back to Reefton. It is about 600 kms from Invercargill to Reefton (through winding roads), so we elected to break the drive in half, with a few stops along the way.

Our first rest stop was at Queenstown, which is the adventure capital of New Zealand. It has a ski village feel about it (and in winter there is some skiing located close by). There are activities available all year round from water skiing and sailing to bungy jumping and parachuting. We planned to only stop for an hour or two for a look around, since we will almost certainly be back to spend a few days here.

The first order of business was the Queenstown Starbucks. Having ordered the coffee, taken the picture and bought the mug, I can now cross off all the Starbucks on the South Island. Although there are still a bunch on the North Island ...

Queenstown has a luge ride and as luge aficionados (see Signapore and Rotorua) we felt compelled to check it out. The ride up on the gondola is breath taking, especially as it passes the bungy jump platform where individuals pay to jump off a cliff attached to only a rope. The luge was ok - not the best, not the worst but it was a good change of pace for the kids who were not loving the long drive.

On the way out of town we passed the original bungy jump - 43 metres off the historic Kawarau bridge. Avery and Adrianne are convinced that they want to attempt the jump. We managed to postpone that decision a bit. We watched a number of jumpers - it did look like fun.

On the way up the road, we stopped in at the Wanaka tourist attraction: "Puzzle World". In the middle of nowhere a guy and his wife decided to build a wooden maze (it takes an average of an hour to complete). 30 years later the place is still operating and has expanded to include a "puzzle" area and rooms filled with optical illusions. We didn't have time for the whole tour - sadly the kids and Astrid are anxious to return ... I am working on my list of reasons why doing so would be terribly dangerous.

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Photos

Queenstown
View from the top of the luge run

Comments

[CanadianKiwis]

Critical Fan's complaint
IT'S QUEENSTOWN NOT QUEENSLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CanadianKiwis]

Errata
This entry previously referred to Queensland not Queenstown. The bloggers have corrected this entry and regret any inconvenience the previously incorrect entry may have caused.