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Published: March 13th 2006
Wanaka - Queenstown: On leaving Wanaka our first stop was Puzzling World - world famous because of the maze and the mind numbing puzzles. The entrance of $15 seemed a bit steep but as i really did not have any other choice of anything to do that morning i decided to pay it. We all did the maze first - we had to find the watchtowers at each of the four corners. It took us a fair while, and we seemed like the only people who couldn't find the bloody towers! In the end we all got angry with it and Mark just left via the emergency exit doors, whereas I wasted even more time trying to complete the thing. Afterwards we went around the illusion centre, some bits being quite enjoyable. Pictures of the head of Einstein occupy one room, and if you stare at them they follow you around the room - that was quite weird. Another room was dedicated to screwing your head up. I went in feeling good and after the angled flooring and baffling slopes i came out feeling decidedly sick. The cafe even has a selection of puzzling games to work out - enough to
make you want to throw the games and possibly throw up the table in a fit of rage! After feeling slightly angered and useless at not being able to complete the majority of the puzzles we left, heading towards Queenstown.
We stopped off at the Kawarau bridge bungee site so that the Kiwi passengers could do the jump. I decided against the jump for the time as i didn't know where and what i was going to spend my money on. A few people did the jump including Christian, Sally with Smiley the bus driver, and others i cant remember the names of. We all cheered them on, and by the end of it i fancied the jump.
Just before we arrived in QT we stopped off in Arrowtown, another pointless Kiwi Experience stop. The only reason it seemed we stopped was to try out some pies in a pie shop (we were only about 15mins from QT). After having my venison pie (it was quite nice) we eventually left for QT. On arrival we had to pose for a Kiwi Experience bus picture. If i had the choice i would have opted out - not because i am a
spoilsport, primarily the bus wasn't our own (we had got on at Wanaka) and the people on board were generally not to my liking. The pose itself was ridiculous - we had to do a pyramid, with the blokes lying down on the bottom and everyone else piled on top - i thought i was going to suffocate (there were some big lass's on that bus).
The room we had in QT was quite small but there were some good people in it. Four American girls were quite bubbly and chatty, if not a bit ditzy. We all got on really well with them and it was a shame we had to leave the following day. We met up with Team Horse (Lucy and Alison) after they had arrived the previous day and then headed out for a night on the town. I knew i couldn't drink to much as i had a 300km drive the next day - it didn't help that all the people from our previous bus were out partying and there were some good people out that night. We then headed to World Bar (a nightclub) where everyone was seemingly getting bladdered. A Canadian couple, i
had always thought of as a bit weird (they didn't speak to anyone and kept themselves to themselves) approached me and we started talking about the Kiwi bus. Myself and Mark had said that it wouldn't be worth the money or effort if it wasn't for the people i had met (in hindsight the people made the trip) and that somethings we found slightly frustrating (like the touting). They totally agreed and pestered myself and Mark for a large portion of the rest of the night - i felt trapped, at one point they were getting quite intense and had me surrounded. I was quite happy to chat for about 10mins to them, but felt bad as Victoria, Chris and some of the others were on their own for long periods while i was trapped for about 45mins in a conversation i didn't want to be in. The funniest moment was when the Canadian girl said "you guys have been the people we have clicked with on the tour, and the only people we have liked. We think you are so funny" - this was the first time i had even spoken to either of them! I quickly decided that
i would rather get a good night sleep before the drive and also get away from the Canadian couple. It took me a good 20mins to say my goodbyes to everyone - Alison stopped me and couldn't work out why i was leaving so early (1am) and why i wasn't drinking. I said to her "your life is in my hands tommorow, so its in your interests that i goto bed and dont drink" - i'm not sure she still understood where i was coming from! As it happens i didn't get to sleep quickly as i chatted to the American girls for a good hour or so before the others got back.
Queenstown - Milford Sound: Getting up early so that we could pick the car up at 8 was a bit of a wrench but had to be done. As I was driving everyone else decided that they could get an extra half hours kip while I went and got the car. As we had paid for the cheapest car I was given the keys to a Ford Festiva (equivalent to Fiesta) - i didn't really care, as i was driving and could have as much leg
room as i needed. Although we were only staying overnight, once everyone had put their day bags into the boot it was full (admittedly we did have 2 women on board). The passengers on the trip were Mark, Chris, Alison and Lucy. We were told that it takes about 4hrs to get there - so i knew i was in for a long one. Apart from taking the wrong road leaving Queenstown (there are only 2 directions you can go) thanks to my navigator (ok and my incompetence) we were soon heading towards Te Anau (our first pit-stop) around the lake, across the mountains and then into the straight plains. About 20mins from Te Anau i got into a slight bit of trouble. I was following a car tootling along and was getting impatient to overtake it. We turned a corner and there was a straight bit of road and i immediately started preparing to overtake - i pulled out to the right, started to accelerate, then thought crap there is another car coming the other way and pulled back in behind. Unfortunately my concentration on overtaking meant that i was unable to spot the Police Car lurking in the
bushes. Mark said "Paul did you see the Police car in the bushes" and i responded "no, but i can see his blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror". So i pulled over and got out of the car expecting to just get a telling off, instead i got myself a ticket - no not for speeding but 'for failure to keep left'. Thats all well and good but how are you expected to overtake if you have to keep left?!? Earlier on, picking up the car i had been really chuffed with myself on how much money hiring a car was going to save me in comparison to a coach trip. Now i was faced with a $150 fine (Pride comes before a fall and all that)! As i got back into the car i jokingly said "looks like the skydive is off" which seemed to lighten the mood. Everyone agreed i was desperately unlucky to get caught - that was the only police car we encountered, and i went for an overtake just as i was passing him! The rest of the journey i was on my best behaviour - ensuring i was sticking to the limit,
not overtaking and being overly cautious - it was horrendous, i felt like a pensioner behind the wheel of a 20yr old Skoda with fading eyesight!
We eventually arrived in Te Anau and topped up with fuel followed by a trip to the supermarket - Alison had offered to cook a Thai meal when we arrived. Te Anau was supposed to be a lovely stop off point, but it seemed like a bit of a ghost town with nothing really going for it. We were back on the road again heading towards Milford Sound and the middle of nowhere. Mark was a bit grumpy because he is 6'6 and had to put up with the being in the back with minimal leg room, everyone else seemed to be fine. The closer we got to Milford the better the scenery got. At a few locations along the way we stopped to get some happy snaps even though the weather was absolutely shocking. Just before going through the Homer tunnel we stopped in the pouring rain to snap away at the sheer grey mountain faces with the water flowing down the sides in a multitude of waterfalls. The Homer Tunnel itself looks
daunting and was. It is a one way flow of traffic and because of this there is a 15min turnaround. I cautiously went through as a load of cars overtook me, and inside was dark and dingy with water flowing from the cave roof - i only had thoughts of the roof caving in. Once we reached the light at the end of the tunnel, the roads became precarious with some drops off the side and ridiculous corners (made Monaco GP look like a ride on a Roman Road). I didn't care - I actually wanted to drive slow and yes, below the speed limit because the scenery was spectacular and gorgeous. After a few piccy stops we stopped just outside Milford at a place called the Chasm. This was basically just another waterfall that descended into a hole or 'chasm'. It was nice to see but i appreciated the toilet stop slightly more.
Finally we had arrived at Milford Sound Lodge, about 5hrs after leaving Queenstown. The lodge itself is very basic - the power generators are turned off at 11pm and and turned on at 6am. We were lucky to get a room to ourselves, apart from the
damn sand flies which were everywhere!!
The weather was still pretty bad, but as we only had a relatively short time in Milford Sound we thought it was best we went and explored. The cloud cover over the mountains meant the scenery was slightly obscured but the place was absolutely magical, a small bit of rain failing to dwindle my wonderment (I'm not on drugs honestly). After being attacked by thousands of sand flies and soaking up the scenery we headed back to the Lodge where Alison cooked us up a treat of a Thai meal. That evening we chilled out playing cards and drinking cups of tea (unfortunately we didn't have any cocoa or warm milk - sounds old man like, but Milford Sound is extremely remote). As it got pitch black outside a few of us went to see the glowworms in the trees nearby. To be fair it wasn't Waitomo but it was free - the girls hadn't seen any glowworms yet. We managed to get into our rooms before the power was turned off, and when it was the rooms were pitch black - no amount of carrots would allow you to see through this darkness
Lake Tekapo
Church of the good Shepherd(as Chris found out trying to find his way to the toilet).
We got up nice and early so that we could be ready and get on the 9:30 ferry tour of Milford Sound. As is always the case we were running late so walking was out of the question (i drove). Out of the 9 or so ferries that were in port ours was by far the worst one - suppose you get what you pay for. But it did its job, especially as muffins and drinks were free on board - and much needed as it was a very fresh morning, but most importantly blue sky and sunny. The ferry tour turned out to be the best thing i have done since travelling so far. The scenery was incredible - the water was pitch black because the water was stupidly deep, the snow on the peaks, the sheer rock faces with the many water falls, the trees which are sat precariously on the side of the cliff faces, the light aircraft coming into land (a tiny dot in an immense landscape), the sealions and other wildlife...etc etc. Our boat took us all the way to the end of
Lindis Pass
QT - Christchurch the Sound (to the sea) and then back up the other side where we saw the sea lions playing/fighting. The water was full of debris from where massive trees have fallen into the surrounding water - everyone seemed transfixed on the views - even Mark who turned upto the Franz Josef glacier and said he didn't know what all the fuss was about!
It was ashame the boat tour had to end, but we had the journey back to Queenstown to contend with.
On the way back we had all decided there was no need to rush, and that we would stop off wherever anyone wanted to, after all we had the car until the following morning. Mark and Chris looked throught the Lonely Planet and picked up a couple of walks that would be good. After a few road stops to get some more pictures of the scenery, we arrived at our first walk. We had all decided we would only go and see the waterfall and not the lake which was an extra 3hrs walk - well that what everyone thought apart from Chris. Chris for some reason raced ahead on his own, so when we go to the top of the waterfall we were surprised to see him not there. I tried to run ahead to catch up with him and tell him we were heading back but he was well gone. The 4 of us then decided to go back to the car and wait for him - we were not happy people thats for sure! We wasted a bit of time by the river skimming stones and mucking about. I tried to paddle in the river but it was freezing - my feet nearly turned to ice. Luckily for us Chris appeared after only 2hrs - he had got lost and taken a wrong track so he decided just to head back. After he recieved the silent treatment for a few minutes we were back on the road and heading for our next stop which was a lake walk. Chris decided not to go on the walk, instead preferring to listen to his ipod. The walk wasn't brilliant, but we got a nice view of the lakes and the vegetation in the wooded bit. After setting off again, we came across some roadworks in which we queued for about 10 minutes until Chris piped up that he had left his walking shoes back at the lake walk - everyone was dying to tut, but i happily suggested that we go back (25mins drive) and pick them up. We dropped Mark, Alison and Lucy off at a river bank so they could just chill out, while myself and Chris went back. I was pleased to be going back as Mark had been complaining that they were being tossed about to much in the back of the car and was constantly peering over at the speedo to check my speed (I was driving slower than the limit and getting annoyed everytime i looked in my rear view mirror to see Mark staring). This gave me the license to drive at the speed i wanted to and have some fun driving rather than being watched all the time - Chris and I made good time! After picking up the shoes, followed by Mark, Alison and Lucy we headed on towards Te Anau where we refuelled briefly before heading straight back to Queenstown. The drive back was boring and tiresome, everyone drifted off to sleep, leaving me to mindlessly drive along on the empty straight roads (I was tired as well - Mark happily pointed this out to me). We arrived back in QT about 6:30 and did a bit of shopping before i dropped off the car - i was completely drained and didn't know what i was doing!
By the time we were all back at the hostel the time was getting on and everyone was up for a night out. As tired as i was, i thought i deserved a good night out as well, so i had a shower to freshen up and had some food before we hit the town. We had a good night and I enjoyed relaying tails of Milford to friends from the bus - being laughed at when they found out about my scrape with the Law. After the Altitude bar we headed to the World Bar - famous for its teapots. I can recall myself dancing and getting quite merry, and the rest is history.
Queenstown: My first day back in Queenstown was a laid back affair - catching up with sleep from the previous night and day - everyone was feeling slightly hungover. To overcome our ailments from the previous night we all thought it would be a good idea to have a swim in the lake. We got down to the lake nursing slight headaches, all legged it into the water which was icy cold and then nearly died of cold shock! At first i thought this would be ideal to wake me up and get me with it, but it just ended up giving me a far worse headache! We didn't stay in the water long and headed off to try hangover cure No2 - McDonald's. It was a cold, miserable day, so walking through town in just wet swimmers and a t-shirt wasn't the best idea. The Macca's seemed to do something as i gradually improved throughout the day.
Mark was determined to do the Thrillogy (3 Bungee jumps) so we headed down to the office to book it up. While we were there, I decided sod it and joined him on one of the bungee jumps and also booked up River Boarding (something we had wanted to do in Rotorua). I booked up the Kawarau Bridge bungee - the one i said i wanted to do before i left. After wandering around and checking the place out I bumped into Conor who had just arrived in off the Kiwi Experience bus. It had been a while since we last saw him (when we left Picton) so we had a fair bit to catch up on. Mark and myself got Conor on board to do the Bungee jump and River Boarding. Later that evening we all headed to the bar and Conor got absolutely wasted (I think he was trying to forget he had a bungee jump to do in the morning). I decided i didn't want to feel hungover for my bungee so stayed off the heavy stuff.
The next day we had to be up and at the office by 9:30. As soon as i woke up the fear hit me. My mind was racing and i was really nervous about the morning ahead. I was the first one up and tried to stir Mark and Conor (both didn't get back til the early hours) without much luck. After a while Mark emerged, but Conor appeared to be using delaying tactics. As the time wore on i was becoming less and less nervous (probably helped by the fact Conor was a complete wreck). It was 9:30 and we were just leaving the hostel when Conor said "i just have to get the Danish girl, she wanted to come", i said "she is probably in bed and its to late anyway". Mark and I then decided just to go otherwise we might have missed the bus. Conor did make it in the end but unlike me time did not heal his hold-ups. As we arrived at the jump site Conor piped up "i dont think i can do it", and was reluctant to even get out of the mini bus (I was well up for it by this time). Between the 3 of us we had decided the order - i would film and take pictures for Conor followed by Mark, and then Conor would take my camera and film my jump. Conor was up first and had prepared a 'Hi Mum' sign for the picture on the ledge. He seemed ok while getting all the safety equipment on, and when he had to shuffle to the edge, but then things started getting to him... After waving to the crowd, Conor got the countdown - 3,2,1... and nothing other than a shake of the head. 3,2,1... Nothing apart from his hands on his head - this process was repeated for about 6 countdowns (we were told that if they dont jump by the 3rd countdown, they usually dont jump at all). Conor was told to come back in by the guys - he replied "no, i will do this" - they gave him another 'final' countdown - 3,2,1...nothing. Throughout, Mark, myself and the crowd of pensioners had been cheering him on and shouting encouragement, even though we all thought he wouldn't go through with it. He was given one absolute final oppurtunity... 3,2,1...hesitation...teetered off the edge...he was away. I was so pleased for him, even though the jump wasn't the easiest on the eye. When he finally got back up the top i greeted him with a hug (he was soaked from being dunked in the river) and was pleased to see the elation on his face. Unfortunately Conor finishing his had meant it was my turn to get ready for my jump. I raced up to the bridge just in time to see Mark jump. Mark was calm, cool and collected about the whole experience - this was shown in his picture perfect dive. After Mark had completed his the pressure was all on me - I was the last person of the morning session, and everyone that had paid had gone through with it. It was strange because i felt relaxed even though i knew i should be defecating myself. I was called to the prep platform, sat down and put my legs out. All that goes around the ankles is a towel and some strapping that is tightly wound around. I was then given the safety briefing which included "before you hit the water tilt your head into your chest...otherwise you get a black eye and could knock yourself out" - all i needed to hear. At this moment i was cold with the morning breeze hitting me and my perspiring body and next thing i know i'm told to get up and shuffle towards the edge. The ledge itself is a daunting experience, and one slight trip would mean a comical dive and descent over the edge. I carefully shuffled my way to the edge and at the end was told to put my toes over the edge - looking down to the rocks and the water below between my trainers isn't the nicest experience. I was then told to wave to the camera and crowd. All this seemed to be over in an instant - then it was the moment of truth (I had told myself if i didn't jump on the first countdown there would be a chance i wouldn't do it at all). 3,2...and i had jumped before he had even reached 1. Jumping off and the initial 2 seconds after are by far the worst part. It was weird i was heading towards the river and thinking 'Oh crap why have i done this' and then suddenly the adrenaline rush came. As soon as the rush hits it was a brilliant experience. In seconds i was hitting the water below after i had decided to be dunked and then being recoiled back in the air - i was in a state of absolute exhiliration. I was then lowered into the boat and taken back to the edge to climb up the top. Probably the weirdest part of the day was my arrival back up to the viewing platform. A bus load of Japanese tourists had arrived while i had been doing my jump, after being greeted by Conor at the bottom we walked up together and on reaching the top i heard an applause. The 30 or so Japanese tourists were all looking at me and clapping, followed by slaps on the back - i felt a bit of a celebrity through the embarassment. After politely thanking them for there support we went to view our photos and DVD. Conor's DVD was an absolute epic - he definetly got value for money. After we had collected our free T-shirt and certificate we said goodbye to Mark who was off to do the feared Nevis (130m) and headed back to QT.
After telling everyone about the experience back at the hostel and having something to eat, Mark returned. We then had a chat about his Nevis jump and watched it on his camera. Mark had his final jump to do at 'The Ledge' which overlooks QT. Because we refused to pay the Gondola fare up the mountain we had to walk. It was 45mins of pure uphill exaustion - what a relief to get to the top. The view over QT from the top of the mountain was incredible - the best town view from the top of a mountain i had seen (and i had seen a fair few in NZ). Mountains (Remarkables) surround QT, with the lake being a central part of the landscape - another breathtaking view. We watched Mark do his somersault dive off the ledge and then headed back down for another night out on the town.
My penultimate day in Queenstown was another memorable one. This was they day we did our river boarding with 'Mad Dog' (we all joked about about the name and wondered whether we were to middle of the road for such an experience). Mark, Conor and I turned up at the office and was introduced to the guides, i couldn't help but notice there was a midget among our group, although i didn't point this out to the boys. We got on our mini bus and headed to the river site. On the way they were blowing up the side of a mountain and so we had to wait until all was decalred safe (10mins). During the wait we were stopped at a vinyard - hungry backpackers and free food (even if they are unripe grapes) go hand in hand. We all descended on the crop like a swarm of locusts and started devouring some of the vines. After the delay we drove a short way to the site - a former gold panning location. Mark came up to Chris and I and quietly said "there is a midget here as well", i chuckled and said "yes i know, i saw her earlier on" - a few comments were passed before we got kitted out into our wet suits and flippers. We all grabbed a board and headed back to the mini bus for a quick jaunt to our start point - we were absolutely roasting and couldn't wait to get in the cold water. On arrival we went to get our boards out of the trailer on the mini bus. Mark and myself got ours but Conor was left with a small board as someone had nicked his. As we headed down to the edge it soon became apparent that our friend of stunted growth had taken Conor's board. It would have been like riding a barge for this girl! After all the safety chat (which nobody listened to) we were finally out on the water! We had been told that as long as we follow the instructions we should be fine, and we were told that we wouldn't hit any rocks! The first set of rapids came up and my thigh smashed down on the rocks below - not a good start. On the second set of rapids we got to, i got severe cramp in my leg and i couldn't swim - i was basically just at the mercy of the river. My cries of pain were heard by the lovely female guide and she said "lift your leg up" and as i did she stretched out the cramp. I continued with the aid of the female guide down river for a bit before the cramp had subsided and i was able to swim. The next problem came a bit more of the way down. As i headed into some of the worse rapids my genital region was crushed and my wetsuit started riding up a bit to high (should have gone for the larger size). As my dreams of having children were being painfully taken a way from me, i told the female instructor who happened to float by what predicament i was in. This time she didn't help me and just laughed. I continued on in absolute agony trying to adjust and release myself before eventually sorting the problem out momentarily. I enjoyed the river boarding, but there were to many people. I kept on mounting (boarding terminology) other boarders and they did likewise - i couldn't do much about it, the river dictates what happens and if someone is going slowly in front, a mounting occurs.
As we were coming to the end, we were taken up and down the river on the back of a Jetski which was pretty cool. Mark and I paired up and just as we were coming to the end of our stint on back of the Jetski, Mark went flying off straight into the blasted water - he later said that he was severely winded by the fall, and thought he to would be lucky to have children. Unfortunately the Jetski driver dropped us off all the way up river with another group so we had to float (we didn't have our boards) all the way down to catch up with our group.
Once reaching the end, it was time for the rock jumps, rope, and river slide. With the rock jumps we were given a choice whether to jump off the top or bottom sections. As the bottom jump was pointless, Mark and I opted for the top jump (15m) while Conor hovered around the bottom jump. To my surprise the midget was first to go on the top jump, Mark whispered in my ear "if this midget jumps and Conor doesn't we will have to give him some right stick". The midget although looking nervous, was first to go, and soon it was me facing the drop - these things look quite daunting once your up there! I was told to keep my hands in and my head straight otherwise i get a black eye (sounded familiar). Trying to keep my hands in as i jumped wasn't easy as you have to fight your natural instincts - hence i looked like a man trying to fly as i was descending...and slap...ouch, that was more painful than expected...hands throbbing and that feeling you get when your nose is hit hard. Mark followed me and then we went up again to put ourselves through even more pain!! When we arrived back to the rock, Conor was still loitering in the same position we had left him. We started giving him some abuse and he told us "he would do the small jump" - more abuse!! The next jump i had to make sure i went in as pencil shaped as possible otherwise...slap...etc...etc. The bloke before me stupidly did a 'bomb' and you could hear the slap on the water miles away - i bet he had a sore backside. One other guy also got a bad nose bleed from the jump - quite hardcore stuff! I did my next jump which was still slightly painful but better than the last before heading back to do the rope swing. The rope swing was quite cool - it hung quite high over the river and took you at a good speed before launching yourself off at its highest point! I came off and went arse over, slapping into the water - great fun! I did this a couple of times, before heading to the river slide. The slide is set up in the river bank/cliff and gets up quite a speed before launching you and the board across the river. I opted for the reverse slide (so i couldn't see what was coming) and darted down (heavier people seemed to go further), skidding across the river - nearer the other side than our side. Soon it was time to head back after getting changed and washed down. We headed back into QT and stopped off at a pub to get our free food (sausage in a slice of bread) - we sneakily managed to get 2 portions! We then headed back to the hostel to start another night of drinking at the altitude followed by World Bar.
We didn't have anything planned for our last day in Queenstown. Conor and Chris decided to do some Mountain biking - i wanted to do this, but financial constraints and feeling extremely stiff from the river boarding the previous day restricted my options! Mark suggested we go and play some frisbee golf. Myself, Mark and Dan hired out some Championship Frisbee's (the shopkeeper took his frisbee's a bit to seriously for my liking) and then headed down to the course. Frisbee golf involves aiming for targets (trees or baskets) and trying to keep within par. Generally most of the courses were par 4 (i.e. should take 4 throws to get to the target). I hadn't thrown a frisbee since i was about 5, so was feeling slightly rusty to say the least - it showed! I was soundly beaten by Mark the overall winner (hardly surprising as most of my throws ended up hitting trees directly in front of me or going wildly off course!).
Later that evening we headed up the mountain via the path (the exausting 45min walk) for one last activity in Queenstown - The Luge! Myself, Mark, Chris and Dan were the competitors - the race had been talked up all day. The signs clearly state warnings including 'NO RACING' amongst others including 'NO CUTTING UP' - most of the rules were broken that evening! We paid for 5 goes or races as they should have been called, and the first one was on the scenic track. I got off to a flying start and was ahead for most of the race until a small thing called a hairpin put pay to my race. I was going way to fast for the corner, came off and went onto the rubber that halts the Luge so that you cant go any further - the others all laughed at me as they raced on passed. Our next race was a bloody battle - literally. This time we tried the advance track and again i was off to a flyer - overtaking Mark and Chris. We approached the vertical drop section without braking (signs indicate 'BRAKE NOW') and dropped down that before getting to the banked corner at the end, i thought "crap i should really have slammed the brakes on a bit earlier" as i went hurtling over the corner (i was going to fast to turn) and i slammed straight on into the wall. I was bounced out of the Luge and onto the concrete. Just as i landed i looked behind me and Mark was heading straight towards me - i rolled out the way as he went hurtling into the same wall and missed me by centimetres. Dan had done exactly the same but at a slower speed, but Mark had cut Chris up on the dangerous downhill section and come off scraping up his arms, legs, stomach - ok his whole body! Mark and I hadn't realised this and we were in fits of laughter as a Danish women looked on in disgust, Dan went on without stopping. At the end we realised the full scale of devastation - Chris was badly scraped, I had scraped my elbows and my knees and Mark had one or two minor cuts. For the final three races Chris opted out and got his money back, while the three of us continued on - i still had a problem with the vertical section and controlling my speed (i went into the wall 2 more times). On one race Mark knocked me off the track into the gravel, i then repayed the favour on the next race. It was a good laugh while it lasted but Chris blamed Mark for the big accident and there was a fair bit of needle throughout the evening.
It was our last night in Queenstown so we thought what best a way to celebrate - the bar! We headed down to Altitude for the quiz night and got a team together for the $100 bar tab. We were all in high hopes and appeared to get off to a good start. By the end of the quiz we rated our chances as we had managed to answer quite a few of the questions. The teams who came last were drawn out first, and before we knew it we were in the final two. We all stood up in anticipation, "Second place goes to Team India" - we were all absolutely gutted especially as we had lost by one point, and more importantly lost the $100 bar tab. Everyone was seething for a few minutes afterwards, but soon the drink had calmed everyone down and we were in for a goodnight. Unsurprisingly we went to the World Bar to claim the free drinks i had been collecting, and to sample the Tea Pots. 4 of us all paid for a tea pot and we all celebrated out time together by having shots from it, and toasting highlights of the trip. Conor and myself indulged ourselves with the 'Kamikaze Tequila' - unorthodox tequila consumption involving snorting salt followed by lemon in the eye and then the shot of tequila - not good! It was a good night and a nice way to say goodbye (not the tequila) to people i had met and travelled with along the way and got on really well with.
Queenstown - Christchurch: A ridiculous pickup time of 7:30 for the journey to Christchurch meant we had to set our alarms for 6:30 (after a couple of hours sleep). Queenstown is the party capital of New Zealand and they were forcing us out of bed at 6:30am after the final night!! I was the first to get up as i needed a shower and to freshen up, followed by Chris and lastly Mark. We woke Conor up to say goodbye for the final time as he was staying in QT for a few more days. Again we were running late so we had to pickup our stuff and get to the bus as quickly as possible. The bus was full of people that had obviously had as heavier/heavier night as us - most were already falling asleep. I tried to close my eyes but it wasn't happening, so just pestered Chris, Victoria and Chavaunne for most the journey.
The bus drove out of Queenstown, through the Kawarau gorge and then further up through the Lindis Pass into the Mackenzie Country. Victoria offered us some of her Pringles, so Mark and I emptied the tin out and gave them back an empty tin. Victoria looked back knowing it was a joke, but Chavaunne who had not been endeared to our mucking about and practical jokes throughout the trip just shook her head in disgust - this same action had been repeated several other times to my amusement. We then headed to the aqua blue lake Pukaki to see Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo for a view of the Church of the Good Shepherd, and the Bronze Sheep Dog. From here we went straight into Christchurch, arriving at around 16:30.
Mark and myself went and had a Chinese after we had a brief swim in the hostel pool while Chris went on a sight seeing expedition that lasted about 5mins. In the evening we were all to knackered to go out and stayed and played cards in the hostel. Mark was leaving early in the morning so we said our goodbyes to him before heading to bed. The 'Big Guy' had been great company from Auckland all the way down to Christchurch so it was sad to see him go.
The next day i had to check out by 10am - my flight to Melbourne was at 6am the following morning so i had decided there was no point in paying for an extra night when i could sleep at the airport. Chris and I went up to the markets to have a look round - i wanted to buy some Jade to send back home as presents, but unfortunately my funds had been seriously depleted! The market was full of tat and I was soon bored of it. We then wandered around the museum which had some interesting objects in it, but by now my focus was set on Melbourne and getting a job ASAP! We both killed a fair bit of time before heading back to cook up one last meal. Chris and I had become used to cooking together and doing a pasta dish (pesto usually) all the way down the coast, so we thought we may as well have one for old time sake. Afterwards we went for a few drinks and played some pool (i got soundly beaten in the end after taking a 3-0 lead), before the time of my departure and the end of my time in NZ had arrived. Victoria had coined Chris, Mark and myself the 'Three Amigos' - we had scorned the name thinking it was a bit...well you know... But I had a great time with them and will certainly remain in touch.
I got to the airport about midnight and set about making a bed from my bag and coat. The airport isn't the best place to sleep as i found but it provided me with a bit of shut eye before boarding my plane and heading back to Australia and Melbourne...
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Victoria
non-member comment
Sun
I am pleased to report that the sun has come out in Cairns. I adore this town and have decided if i emigrate it'll be here rather than Sydney! I think I am somewhat swayed by the marvelous hopping centre. We've been outon the reef today in a massive boat wtih only 25 people on it. Was very luxurious. Did some diving and snorkelling and had the best time! I wish I could stay here forever. So, are you still working in Melb? what are you doing? when are you moving on? Hope life is treating you well, remember that suntan lotion! you don't want legs like mine in Noosa, hoprrendous short lines i tell you xx