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Published: July 30th 2013
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After the excitement of our skydive in Wanaka, we drove to nearby Queenstown, New Zealand's tourist Mecca and adrenaline capital. On the way we came across the birthplace of the modern bungee jump, at the Kawarau bridge. I pulled into the car park and Sonya wasn't impressed. 'I am not doing a bungee jump!' I had no desire to do one either lucky for her but I was intrigued. We went to the viewing platform and watched a girl elegantly swan dive from the bridge and dangle up and down. Sonya said just watching made her feel ill. We arrived in Queenstown at lunch time and after finding our bearings we headed to the infamous Fergburger, a joint notorious on the backpacker circuit for its humongous, tasty burgers. The place was packed. We got in the long queue and perused the menu as we waited. There must have been 20 different choices; various beef and chicken options, venison, lamb, veggie and even fish. We wanted to eat them all but settled on one beef with all the trimmings and a Bombay chicken. We watched other people chow down as we waited impatiently but when our number was called the wait was
so worth it. Sonya and I barely spoke a word, instead we gorged and just scoffed in approval. Best burgers ever! That night we caught went for drinks an English couple we'd met on the west coast, Aaron and Mollie from Coventry . The four of us drank in their camper van and by the time we left for a bar they'd polished off a bottle of Vodka. Perhaps unsurprisingly the night didn't last long, Aaron got thrown out of the first bar and we spent sometime walking around trying to find somewhere else that would have us. We called it a night soon after, our first night on the tiles in New Zealand was over before it even started. Day two and we take the skyline gondola up to get views of Queenstown, the lake and mountains. It's bitterly cold but the sky is cold and we get some nice pictures. Then I taunt Sonya into a race on the luge, basically a downhill go kart track. I leave her for dead at the first corner and she loses the challenge woefully but we both have good fun. After a nice, albeit brisk picnic up on the hill we
try on various ridiculous hats in the gift shop before buying postcards for family. That night we booked into the IceBar, using the vouchers Scott and Leanne gave us when we left Auckland. We arrive and are given long, thick coats and gloves. Inside everything is made of ice, from the glasses to the furniture. There are various carefully crafted sculptures including a shark and a dragon. Even the chairs were elaborate works of ice-art. At minus five degrees you are only allowed to stay for 30 minutes but I think that was enough time. After this we enjoyed a Havana rum and coke in another bar before the kiwi experience bus swamped the place as part of a bar crawl. As they played awful sex position games and talked about leaving school we felt very old and so we made a swift exit. We woke up early on Saturday and along with Aaron and Mollie, decided to visit Arrowtown, a quaint former gold mining town. It was a tiny, old fashioned place and it was a nice change from bustling Queenstown. We wondered the streets but within ten minutes or so had seen much of the town. We passed
the time by eating some of Arrowtown Bakeries famous pies, the lamb and mint and venison were both very tasty. Before returning to Queenstown we visited the former Chinese settlement and poked our heads into the huts and shelter the miners used to call home. The homes were very basic and must of been bitterly cold in the winter. That evening the All Blacks were playing France in Rugby Union. The four of us met up and headed to a bar that had been recommended to us. Into the first half and on my way back from the bar, I exchanged glances with a guy sat watching the match. We immediately recognised one another and it turned out to be Boothy and Fridge, two fellow Cardiff Uni boys who were good mates with my former housemate Ash. Small world! I caught up with the guys and we exchanged travelling stories over a few more drinks. It was such a coincidence meeting in a bar half way round the world. It was our last day in Queenstown so before the night was out Sonya and I enjoyed one final Fergburger, cockadoddle oink - chicken and bacon burger. It was one hell
of a mess to eat but a fitting end to our time in Queenstown, a place that heaving with tourists but as we discovered, for very good reason.
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