queenstown

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i've been in queenstown for almost a week, i think it will have been a week when i leave on monday.

we headed to central otago (instead of up north) and ended up in queenstown. it's gorgeous here, but everyone is CRAZY doing their bungy jumping, skydiving, canyon swinging ... you get strange looks when you tell people you aren't planning to throw yourself out of something and go plummeting toward the ground.

it's gorgeous here though, we're right on lake wakatipu and across from the remarkable mountains. i went on a sweet 6 hour hike yesterday, up over a pass and (1400 meters ... they don't know what high is) into a river valley (shotover river) where i got to watch the canyon swingers, then hitched back to town. it was a quick training for the 5 day hike michelle and i are heading to on monday (the "great walk" routeburn which takes three days into a lesser known hike, the greenstone track). there were lots of sheeps and mountain goats and beautiful views, of course.

after the next week i'm thinking of heading down to the south east coast to spend some time there before it gets frigid. we'll see what happens though!

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Photos

lake wakatipu
this is the lake, and the remarkable mountains are in the background.

CAUTION!
this is in the queenstown gardens, they have a disc golf course! i didn't really want to go do it by myself and with my ultimate disc though, so i just looked on in envy.

chinese mining village
went over to arrowtown on the one crappy weather day this week and saw a museum and this sweet old chinese mining village. sometimes i still like to look at anthropological things, my degree was TOTALLY worth it!