Eldorado

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Arrived in Queenstown yesterday after quite a hard ride from Cromwell on an undulating road and quite busy. Just outside Cromwell was an old goldmining site of 150 years ago until the 1930's. What a dire existence they must have had when you see the small crude cottages that they lived in. Queenstown is a very nice place full of young people and vibtrant with much to see and do. The picture house beckoned last night and today the first activity was to go on the Jet Boat on the lake and up the Shotover River. this was quite fun and was helped by teh pilot spinning the boat raound through 360 at the drop of a hat. I hope that the video I took comes out OK. Following this was a trip on the Steamboat Earnslow up the lake, which was commissioned in 1912, almost 100 years ago. It has a a very efficient twin triple expansion steam engine powered by the original boiler built 97 years ago. The weather has been very warm and sunny at about 28 degrees. The gondola, which takes you up the cliff face is also worth a trip and a go on the Fluge is a must. this is an oversized skateboard with brakes going down a concrete pathway. Tommorrow I travel North to Wanaka and have decided to go on the bus with my bike since it is quite a busy route and it will give me more time in Wanaka, which is supposed to be well worth a visit. I mended a slow puncture this morning, which I aquired several days ago but was too lazy to mend. The area is very much like Norway and Scotland with very rugged hills and lovely lakes. The soil is quite poor by NW England standards, being thin, sandy and also very stony. It appears very good for wine growing since there are many vineyards around Queenstown.

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