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Published: March 28th 2011
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Day 10 – Wednesday the 23rd of March
After extending our stay for another 2 nights (we’re just having far too much fun) an action-packed day was planned for the day.
The TSS Earnslaw (Queenstown’s only remaining steamship) was first on the agenda. A pleasant 1½ hour cruise up Lake Wakatipu. We started off with a few VERY loud toots, to make sure everyone was awake and then off we went. The best part was being able to go below deck and see the ship’s engineer at work, shovelling coal into the firebox. We could also see the pistons hard at work. The return trip included a sing-along with the pianist of old folk songs. Sadly we hadn’t had enough drink to participate.
On return to Queenstown we only had an hour before our Shotover jet ride. The ride on the Earnslaw proved just how chilly it was this morning and therefore how underdressed Matt was for it. Thus ensued a hectic hour running around the city in search of a warm jacket for Matt.
We caught the free shuttle to Shotover River where our jet was already waiting. The next 25 minutes were definitely action packed.
Queenstown... by day this time
Taken from the top of the gondola It consisted of zipping under bridges, around jagged rocks and over very shallow water (apparently the jet boat only needs 10cm of water to operate). We chose to sit at the back and fully got to experience the 360 degree spins.
Next we spent the afternoon up the top of the Gondola doing the Luge and getting some great panoramic pics of Queenstown and the surrounding mountains. We picked the biggest package of 5 Luge rides, but because it was so fun and pretty quiet at that time of the day it was all over after only an hour. However we did get some pretty cool action pics. It was then off to the bar for a cocktail. Nice!
After dressing up for another evening out we headed down into the bustling nightlife of Queenstown to “Flame”. An amazing South African restaurant we had spotted the night before. They specialise in steak and ribs and are very famous for it. The restaurant was packed and we had a half an hour wait before they could seat us so off to the Remarkable Sweet Shop we went (one of the many Queenstown stores open until the late hours). We
have fallen in love with the Crème Brulee fudge and demolished two bars so far. We even bought some to bring back for Mum F as we love how much she loves Crème Brulee. Hehe!
Dinner was amazing, it’s runner up only to Fleurs (see earlier blogs) so far! Matt had the rib and steak combo. It was absolutely COLOSSAL and to his disgust he just couldn’t finish it. But he has sworn the next time he is in Queenstown he will! Renee had the, what she thought was small lady-like, steak. But when it arrived it consisted of not one large eye fillet steak but two very large fillets. We commented to our waitress just how busy the restaurant was for a Wednesday night. She looked around, shrugged and said “this is a quiet night!”. In peak winter season they turnover up to 300 people a night. If you saw the size of the restaurant you’d agree that it is an outstanding number. Would recommend the restaurant to anyone going to Queenstown, the service was note-worthy too. But most all, make sure you book! Otherwise you might be facing a long wait like we did.
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