Queenstown part 2

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After the previous day's calamities on the slopes, the activity of choice for our final full day was rather more sedate. A trip out to nearby Arrowtown for some historical action didn't really spark the interest of the girls but it was a lovely little village that would keep the rich tourists happy. The remnants of the Chinese settlement was rather forlorn looking but it provides an insight into the harsh conditions faced by the gold seekers. Our little blue cabin in the caravan park looks positively luxurious compared to the small huts hanging on the edge of the hill. Overcast skies but mild, we spent an hour or two traipsing around.
In the afternoon, I took the girls ice skating. With a morbid fear of falling over, Eleanor took a while to look a little less like Frankenstein's monster chasing Dayna around the rink. With a soundtrack reminiscent of Mordy Skate World circa 1983, classics such as 'Fox on the run' (with accompanying video on the big screen!), I almost thought I'd been teleported back to my early teens when I'd catch the tram to the St Moritz ice rink in St Kilda on a Sunday afternoon. It was only the smell of deep fried goodness that snapped me back to 2015 as the girls tucked into crinkle cut chips smothered in tomato sauce. We lasted about two hours, although it would have been less if their cafe wasn't warm. Spectating in the stands requires full polar clothing attire and although my Michelin man puffer jacket was warm, I was lacking the beanie/glove combo necessary to prevent hypothermia. The girls wouldn't let me hire a seal to help them (Dayna definitely didn't want to be pushing Eleanor around in circles for the afternoon) and once they'd figured out they weren't going to die if they fell or have their fingers sliced off, they were fine. They did question the point of going around in circles, to which I had no answer. It was then that they tried to do some 'tricks' to add some interest to their circuits. Looking more like avant garde interpretive dancers than ice princesses, they managed to bring a smile to the crowd next to me.
We had a pleasant walk back to the cabin through the Botanical Gardens, which included dodging people playing frisbee golf and a failed attempt at swinging across a small creek using a short knotted rope. I thought that if an elderly Chinese man could do it, the girls should have no problems. But as soon as Dayna's foot went in the water, they opted for the bridge twenty metres away.
For dinner, we skipped the long queues of Fergburgers and tucked into his pies instead. Delicious.

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