Queenstown & Arrowtown

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A new day, sunshine, petrol in the tank and a leisurely pace and Arrowtown is quite a lovely place to visit. Its a historic mining town with trendy shops and restaurants. There is a park with restored mining houses of Chinese miners who came for the gold rush. The town has a 'western' feel, and Queenstown is much like Whistler or Banff. Both towns have artsy, small theatres that promote alternative/good movies. We went to theatre in Queenstown that had about sixty seats and a beautiful silk patch ceiling to watch a Steve Martin black and white film. Last night we went to Arrowtown to watch movie about Tolstoi in a theatre of 30 seats. The bars and restaurants are very nice in Arrowtown because you don't have the throb of tourists in the streets.
When in Queenstown, look up and you'll see hot air balloons, para-gliders, helicopters and small planes. The streets are filled with skiers now. A perk about the ski slopes here in New Zealand is no trees.

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Photos

View from Gondola
Queenstown and lake

Bungy above Queenstown
Take the gondola, walk over to platform and throw yourself off. Nope, I did not do this.

Balloon
Driving into town I had to stop to take this pic

Scream
While coming up the gondola I heard a scream near the top. Unnerving.....until I looked to right to see bungy platform and a body dangling.

Glider
Can you see the para-glider?

Top of the World
Cool breezes and I need a jacket. Down in town its warmer

Lake Wakatipu
Lake beside Queenstown

Lane
Lane to friend's house

Morning
Great frontyard

Neighbour's pets
And people think my pet chicken is unusual.

Arrowtown
Frontier-type buildings

Lord of Ring
Finally, I see some commercialism from movie

Good Bakery
Excellent food here

See!
Not sure what is up with paper cup for soup but everyplace serves it like this. The bread was filled with herbs and a slab of Brie

Restored Miners House
Tiny building that Chinese miners built during gold rush.

Park
Arrowtown is a good place to visit (as long as you are not seeking petrol). Behind me is park where there are restored Chinese mining houses.