Queenstown

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So today was my one full day here in Queenstown. This city is by far my favourite overall. Queenstown is predominantly run on tourism, I'd say about 90% of those here in the city are tourists here for just a few days checking out the town or here to ski/snowboard on the local mountains. Due to this, everyone is super friendly, and easy to get along with.

Last night I met two of my roommates - one from Brazil and one from Taiwan. Both are doing extensive tours of NZ like I am, staying in hostels, etc. In Dunedin, none of my roommates really talked, so it wasn't as great.

We got to know eachother last night, and decided this morning we'd all go up the gondola together and do the luge. It's nice to have a few people to go up with instead of doing everything on your own. So that made for a great morning.

This afternoon I did some shopping, bought a few more souvenirs for friends, and relaxed a bit. I had a 4:00pm booking to go through Minus 5. This is a tourist attraction that is built entirely of ice. Its a room filled with ice blocks - benches, sculptures, the bar, and even the glasses you drink out of are made from ice. I was the only one booked for this time slot, so I had the whole place to myself to take pictures and roam around. The bartender was really nice (and cute...) so we talked quite a bit. It was really neat. It took 18 tonnes of ice to make the whole thing. Crazy!!!

It's now almost dinner time, so I have to go roam around and find something to eat. I'm kind of craving fish and chips, so I have to go find the good shop I passed by earlier on. Me and the two roommates have planned to go out drinking tonight, so we'll see if that happens or not.

I have to be up early tomorrow to get on the bus that leaves Queenstown at 7:15am. Yikes!!!

Will update you all from either Mt. Cook tomorrow depending on the Internet facilities, or from Christchurch in 2 days.

Cheers!!

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