Queenstown Hightlights (views + wines + bungy + hang gliding = 2 days of fun)

I am in love with this charming, lakeside resort town. Right off the plane I was greeted with the majestic view of the Coronet mountains with its snow cap peaks. Picked up my car, its a cute Hyundai red Accent (NZ drives on the leftside) and drove into town enjoying the scenary. Yesterday, I took a lazy stroll through town. Imagine it like the perfect New England (Vermont) town by the lakeside during autumn with the leaves changing and the crisp air, tons of shops, restaurants, and cafes to sit and chill out over a nice conversation. Another great thing, there were many lone travelers like myself...thank goodness. I spent a few hours walking through all the nooks and crannies taking pictures....the lighting here just gets better and better with every passing hour (I will upload pictures soon, they are fantastic). I ended my day with a nice turkish dinner with a fellow american from Colorado (Katye) who I met at the "Turkish cuisine" eatery. We polished off the night at the "Old man's cafe" with some coffee and desserts by the fireplace.

steamboat returning to Queenstown

by lake Wakatipu catching the moon rising


Today is my second day in Queenstown, just finished the Queenstown Hightlights tour. A half day tour of the Kawari bridge where the bungy jumping first started (yes, I did it), wine tasting at the Gibbson winery, checked out one of the location where Lord of the Rings was shot at, stopped at Arrowtown (a historic town which boom during the NZ gold rush in the 1800's) also walked through the Arrowtown Chinese Settlement camp. Still plenty more for me to do, now I am off to do hang gliding...will report back.

That's me at one of the cabins at the Arrowtown Chinese settlement camp (its tiny inside).

Getting strapped in to the bungy cords, I just asked the guy if he's been certified "he laughs ...what does that mean?!...then assures me he's been doing this for 10 years."


Back from hang gliding. I thought bungy jumping was amazing well, hang gliding rocked! Its nothing like I've ever done. My pilot (Fernando from Argentina) has been in Queenstown hang gliding for the last 9 months...my life is this man's hand! Our launch pad is approx. 680m (~2000ft) up Mt. Remarkable. After we got strapped into the hardness, practiced some runs within minutes we were off flying like a bird. We took off around 4:30pm, nearing sunset. Its an incredible feeling up there, better then any amusement ride I've experienced. The view was just unbelievable, all my senses were in overdrive. I was feeling all sorts of emotions as the adrenaline rushed throughout my body and I'm thinking "I can't believe I'm flying up here". There was a camera and video strapped to the hang glider once I figure out how to upload the video you can see my flight action!

The take off was running down hill (he didn't tell me that!), a minute later we were flying high

From G'day to Kia Ora

"Kia Ora" means hello or in NZ speak gidday.

Its Tuesday morning, May 20th and I'm at Auckland airport waiting for my flight (which is now delayed for two hours) to Queenstown in the south island. I will be spending most of my time in south island this week. I was just here twelve hours ago...missed my morning flight out of Sydney due to a major accident on the highways into Sydney airport. I learned something new about NZ immigration policy, they require that upon arriving at NZ I must have present a proof of a flight out of NZ (e.g. a boarding pass or flight schedules from the airline), so the e-copy of the itinerary will not do.

The later flight gave me more time to spend with my family but got me into the hotel really late...it sucked but don't feel too bad for me yet. I was alittle sad to leave my family (a bit teary eyed) as they've been so kind and generous with their time and home. After the goodbye's I headed to the New Zealand airline's lounge (a star alliance partner)...this is the first time I've ever used United Airlines' "red carpet club" lounge, it was so fancy and packed with yummy snacks, coffee/tea, wine, bear, free internet, lounge chairs, fax, phone, and they make personal announcements when its time for boarding. It really does pay to be in the club, I've been missing out all these years hanging out by the usual airport gate areas.

I was not looking forward to later arrival into Auckland but just my luck that on the same flight were the boys from the New Zealand Warriors (NZ rugby team). They were returning home from a competition in Australia...the flight over was very lively so shall we say it was not so bad after all. When I saw them boarding, I thought they were the NZ All Blacks team but not quite...anyhow you can check them out, http://www.warriors.co.nz/.

After taking the airbus we arrived at the hotel 40mins. later. Its smacked right in the middle of downtown however the block where the hotel was located seem really dark. Alittle discouraged, I enter the hotel and was pleasantly surprise to find the interior a stark contrast to the dark exterior. The decor was modern, open, clean lines...scandinavian influenced, and the staff was very pleasant. I asked one of the staff who helped me to my room how the neighborhood was and he informed me that its actually not "that safe"!!!! What!!....of the all the places I find the one hotel that is not in the best neighborhood. It didn't seem so bad when I came in last night (I saw a few homeless people). Anyhow, he recommended that I shouldn't hang around the area at night if its not necessary which I don't plan to so I should be ok. What's surprising was that there were plenty of people (e.g. backpackers, tourist, locals, students...etc) walking around so the place seems lively. The decor of my room is similiar to the lobby decor...clean, modern, and all new furnitures. The view was not so great...plain parking lot. Another surprise was that they broadcast a Thai channel which is a nice. I don't know about you but I can appreciate good water pressure for my showers and this place has got it right...makes me very happy ;-) So the hotels got its pro's and con's, for now its got my vote with the right amenities and price. I guess I won't cancel my reservation as I'm returning to the same hotel at the end of the week. Ok that's all for now as I head down to south island for lots of sightseeing, driving, and hiking.

2nd stop - New Zealand

Monday (5.19) I head out to Auckland which marks the second stop on my RTW agenda. I am looking forward to the much talked about New Zealand. Everyone I've spoken to loves it there and highly recommends it. At this stop, I do not have any connections and surely no extended relatives to put me up ;-( but I am looking forward to the adventures. If by any chance anyone has some cool people you know in New Zealnd and are willing to introduce to me....please let me know.

I will only be in NZ for one week and have packed it tight with many outdoor activities and some cityscapes. A few things I will be doing...
-check out Auckland city
-fly to Queenstown in the south island for a couple of days
-drive to Franz Josef for a half day glacial hike
-head back to north island to either do the Waitomo cave or ride the Zorb ball at Rotorua.
-lots of driving alone but I think the scenary will more than make up for it