Let’s see…when we last left you, we had just spent our first couple of days in Queenstown. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit in QT. It truly felt like a vacation. There were no crowds, no city scape, and no hustle and bustle.

Sunday 5 Feb

The first couple of days were a little overcast with a cool breeze. Sunday was the first really sunny, hot summer day. We decided to hit the lake and rent a boat for a few hours.

First things first…our daily breakfast.

After breakfast, we took a walk by the lake. We loved the foliage, colorful flowers, and bountiful fruits. Here are some pics from our walk:

We decided to rent a car to get around town because a one-way fare from our hotel to Queentown proper was $50 NZD (about $40 USD). So, if we made multiple trips to town, it was pretty costly. There was a water taxi available but we had to work around their schedule and it was still pretty costly ($30 NZD roundtrip for both of us). A rental car was only about $70 NZD a day so you can easily see that it was the most cost-effective option.

Next stop – marina. Our boat was pretty small but perfect size for the two of us. We went around the lake but didn’t see all of it. It’s pretty large! And, despite the warm sun, the water was still way too cold to jump in. And, I really, really wanted to. But, I just couldn’t get hot enough.

The water was so clear and fresh. At one point, Chris dropped the anchor down and we could still clearly see it from at least 20 feet deep. It was clearer than the Caribbean sea. The water was smooth as glass. Perfect for water skiing. We did see some brave souls (probably locals) who were skiing.

The mountains surrounding the lake are beautiful. One mountain range is chock full of forest with deep green trees. On the other side of the lake were brown barren (still striking) mountains. It was interesting to see the striking mountain differences surrounding us. In the distance, we could see snow capped mountains and glaciers. These glaciers feed the rivers which feed the lake, hence the cold water.

Monday 6 Feb

Monday was our rest day. Our two priorities were laundry and finding a place to watch the Super Bowl. It’s a tradition of ours to always watch the Super Bowl wherever we are. And, it’s been fairly easy to find a bar wherever we are to watch the game.

Our first stop was to drop off our laundry. We didn’t realize that Monday was a holiday and the dry cleaner that we scoped out on Saturday was closing at noon (we thought it closed at 5 pm). We got there just in time to drop off our laundry so it would be ready before they closed. Whew! Thirty more minutes and Chris would have had to wear my clothes. Queenstown is by far the most expensive place that we had our laundry done but we did have A LOT of clothes this time.

We headed back to the hotel for our free breakfast and to chill until noon. After we picked up our laundry, we went into town and found a bar that was showing the game. We watched the first half and the halftime show (I happened to LOVE the Madonna performance) before we went back to the hotel to catch the last quarter. Watching the game is fun but we always miss the commercials that are aired in America. The only commercials we saw were for ESPN sport channels and EPSN shows/upcoming games. At least we heard the same announcers – last year in Quito it was in Spanish.

At the bar at the hotel, there was an older American woman who was really loud and obnoxious. Pretty much everyone in the bar (a whopping eight of us) was rooting for the Giants. But, she was the most vocal. Here’s a little exchange we had:

Her: “Where are you from?”

Me: “Oklahoma.”

Her, in an incredulous voice: “Oklahoma? How did you get here from there?”

Me: {confused look} “Uh, we flew here.”

Had I not had a few beers already, I really would have made her feel stupid. But, I was too slow to react. Don’t you hate it when you think of all the right things to say after the fact? These are some things that I would have liked to said to her:

“I rode a plane like you did, stupid ass.”

“Well, we packed up our teepee, got in our covered wagon, and, in spite of all the Indian raids, we finally made it across the border to Texas where we jumped on a train and made it to the Dallas airport.”

“We swam.”

“We flew. Boy, our arms are tired!”

Tuesday 7 Feb

Our cab driver from the airport to the hotel had recommended an excursion to us called the Funyaks. The trip consisted of a jet boat trip up the Dart River with an inflatable kayak (funyak) ride back down with a stop for lunch. We booked the trip for Tuesday.

The day started early @ 7 am. There were about 23 people on the trip in a range of ages. There was only one other American couple from Colorado. From Queenstown, there was a 45-minute drive to Glenorchy, which was the base for the trip.

They suited us up in a wet suit, a fleece pull-over, a windbreaker, and water booties. Yes, it’s summer but the wind is cold on the jet boat and we would be kayaking down a glacier-fed river. So, if the funyak tipped over, we would be somewhat protected.

The jet boat ride was fast. The driver weaved around trees and into tight spots without any effort. Several times I thought that we were going to hit something or get stuck on some shallow area. The driver did his requisite spins, which were fun, but the best part was definitely the scenery.

After the guides inflated our funyaks, we headed downstream in our little boats. Chris was the captain of our funyaks – he was in charge of all the steering and directing. And, he loved to direct me: when to paddle, which side to paddle, and when not to paddle. He was a great captain. We didn’t tip over once or get stuck on the shallow areas or trees.

The guys dragged the funyaks over some rocks and the ladies did a little hike to an area by a gorgeous grotto. By that time, we were all hot from hiking and dragging the funyaks. So, a little dip in the water sounded refreshing. And, refreshing it was! We stripped down to our wetsuits and jumped in. It took my breath away when I hit the water. The water felt like ice needles on my skin. Even with the wetsuit, it literally hurt to be in the cold water. Once we were out of the water (we weren’t in for long), the sun melted away the pain.

The best part of the day was a little side trip inside the grotto. We kayaked into the grotto to a small area where a glacier stream met the river. The other American couple asked us to trade cameras so they could take pictures of us and we could reciprocate. It was a brilliant idea. That’s how we got the pictures of us.

Lunch was sandwiches with super fresh ingredients like avocado, tomatoes, sprouts, lettuce, hard boiled eggs, brie, sliced cheese, and luncheon meats. But, no chips. No chips?? I really like chips, especially with my sandwich. But, I survived. Dessert was fresh fruit, brownies, banana bread, and chocolate chip bars.

The trip was the highlight of our journey so far. I will never forget the magnificent, natural beauty that I witnessed. I was really sad to leave Queenstown and New Zealand.

– kb