Queenstown

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*** above panorama: Queenstown lakeview and amazing mountain backdrop ***

If an adrenaline rush is what you're after, Queenstown is the place. Highest bungy jump in the world, canyon slingshots, skydiving, you name it. I'm not that much of a hero when it comes to jumping down into an abyss, but luckily, Queenstown has more to offer. It's actually one of the prettiest towns in New Zealand I've been to so far. It sits on the edge of a beautiful lake and is surrounded by high mountains on all sides. It is also the jump-off point to one of New Zealand's most famous sights, the fiordlands of Milford Sound.

I spent two nights in Queenstown, exploring the town a little bit and having a nice stroll in the gardens along the lake. I also drove to Glenorchy, a town on the other end of the lake with beautiful mountain scenery as well. Unfortunately, most of the mountains were covered in clouds when I was there.

Not far from Queenstown, lies the former gold mining town of Arrowtown. This town has some pretty old houses and there even used to be a Chinese settlement of gold seekers. It's a very small town, one main street, that's pretty much it. On the way back to Queenstown, I crossed a bridge over a gorge with a fast river running through it.

Before coming to Queenstown, I heard that the road to Milford Sound was closed due to rock fall. Milford Sound is an incredible fiordland west of Queenstown, that can only be reached via a spectacular, and quite long, mountain drive. It is also one of the wettest places on earth and the fiords are mostly covered in clouds, but I was anxious to see it. After days of cloudy weather and hardly seeing the top of a mountain, I got lucky. On the day I arrived in Queenstown, the road had just reopened AND the weather was clearing up.

As I was making my way to Milford Sound I was treated on amazing mountain scenery, the locally famous "Mirror Lakes" (you can guess why they got their name), more lakes, rivers, waterfalls and a 1.2km long tunnel. That tunnel is Homer Tunnel, a one way lane, and on "peak hours" controlled by traffic lights. It was already getting late when I got there, about 18.30h, and the traffic lights had just stopped working. Also, the lights in the tunnel seemed to be out! So I was going down in that tunnel, which was also going downhill quite steep, with my headlights showing the way to go, and a far light at the end of the tunnel. Luckily, nobody came from the other way, so no awkward passing or backtracking! From there, the ride to Milford Sound was not very far anymore. The scenery of Milford Sound will get a blog post of its own!

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Comments

[Patrick]

Ziet er goed uit
he Teuntje, Alles goed? Ziet er allemaal echt weer geweldig uit. En lekker veel verhalen, goed bezig. Bijna naar de Cook Islands? Hier begint de lente gelukkig, al wordt het paasweekend kutweer, zeilen gaat dan ook niet door....verder verlengd bij ANWB, goed naar mijn zin! Pat

[Maart]

Die Glenorchy Scenery is mooi! (van de pier in het water) Het lijkt wel een filmscene. En heb je een veertje meegenomen van zo'n Kea Bird? Lijkt me wel mooi :o)