Spend spend spend

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Off to Queenstown today and 2 nights accommodation.
The first task today is to get a new fishing rod, Wanaka will be a better bet than Queenstown where prices tend to be inflated. A hunting and fishing shop in the main street had a good selection of telescopic rods, but not pull apart so telescopic it is.Then off to Glendhu bay for a spot of fishing. This is 11 km away from Wanaka around the lake, a quiet and shallow bay. Martin had a fish, we saw fish rising but nothing was caught, the rod worked well.Then the drive to Queenstown via the Kawarau gorge road. Don't take the Cadrona/crown range road, scary high, not good for a campervan. First stop on the trip was at the Toy and Transport Museum just out of Queenstown on the left. You could spend a day here and still not see the extensive displays in four massive sheds, as well as what is in the grounds. Anything transport including military from fire engines to planes, from cars to trucks is here from the beginnings to now. The toy shop sells good old fashioned toys, none of this pink plastic battery stuff, and the museum had displays of mechano and such like. The entry fee is $17-, I chose to stay in the cafe with a latte and free wifi whilst Martin ran through the place in 1 hour. This road takes you past Cromwell but not through it, and takes you through the scenic Kawarau gorge with stops along the way for gold panning, jet rides and the famous A.J. Hackett bungy jump. This jump is off the historic Kawarau bridge and is the site of the first commercial bungy jump in the world. In 1988 Hackett took the old disused bridge, restored it along with The Department of Conservation and made a motzah. The whole complex is quite amazing, taking you from the entrance through a spiral walkway, down into the gift shop, cafe, bar, with great free viewing platforms to watch the bungy jumps, as well as the zip-lining. The fully restored bridge is now part of an extensive cycle/walk pathway. These paths are every where, well signed, off the road and link to form a huge trail from one end of the island to the other. Queenstown, action town, spend your money town! Everything here is designed to keep you in that spot and spend your money. We booked into the Lakeview Van park, up near the Gondola hill, which is called Bob's Peak. Van parks have been costing us around $40- per night for 2, here it is $55- per night. Motels on the way in to Queenstown were being advertised as a "special" of$190- per room, so I guess considering we are literally 5minutes walk from town, with views of the surrounding mountains and lakes, we are doing OK. So at the base of the Bob's Peak is the famous Queenstown Gondola. Started in 1961, this has gone from strength to strength with a proposed redevelopment soon to take it from 4 person cars to 10 person. I first went on this in 1975, and at the top was a chalet with a place to buy a meal and not much else. Now there is a fine dining restaurant, cafe, Stratosphere bar, gift shop, jelly bean land, Haka show, viewing decks, picnic tables, hiking track and luge rides. At the base is mini golf, and a bird park. Expansion plus with add ons, a concept designed to keep you there and spending. The bar is designed for a one only drink, $22- for a beer and wine! The views from the top of the gondola take in almost the whole of Lake Wakatipu which is the longest lake in NZ, all 75kms of it, as well as the very expanding Queenstown. The hills in front are the Remarkables which has one of the skiing areas. When we returned to the bottom we could see lights on the snowy mountains on the right side of Bob's Peak, I think this is Treble cone ski field. We donned jackets and set off to explore Queenstown by night which is all about bars and restaurants. Top end prices in the middle and if you look out at the edges more reasonable prices for the likes of our pockets. I have spent a little time in Queenstown when I lived in NZ and had fond memories of a pub which I thought was called The Pig and Whistle and sure enough on the edge there it still was, not much had changed, not even the name. Busy place, with indoor dining and outdoors dining with heaters and throws to put over you to ward off the cold. Pub prices, pub food, and $9- jugs of beer. And free wifi.

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