I could have stayed in Queenstown for a couple of months, its not that big but there are things always going on and it just felt good being there. I'de imagine it would be quite the fun place to be in the wintertime as well.
Day 1: Thursday February 18, 2010
After my day at Puzzle World in Lake Wanaka, I boarded the Magic Bus heading for Queenstown around 230. On the way we had two stops, Jones's Fruit Stand, and the Worlds first commercial bungee jump over the Kawarua river.
Jones's Fruit Stand was pretty great. Started by a woman that used to be a backpacker and decided to start an orchard and a fruit stand. It is a huge it with the tourists, mostly the asians however. The free sample table was just teeming with them.
The Kawarua river bungee site was a good stop as well. Crazy to think that was the first bungee jump in the world. The creator, AJ Hackett has since set up hundreds of other jumps, making him quite profitable. Saw a few people jump, it looked pretty fun. If I had all day there I think I might have given it a go, not a joke, I was considering it. The jump was 43m high, a big difference from the other major bungee site in Queenstown, weighing in at a whopping 147m.
The bus arrived into Queenstown around 530. In all my travel books and anyone that I have ever talked to that has visited Queenstown, they all recommeneded Ferburger, a local hamburger joint. I was anticipating this day for awhile as I heard such great reviews about it. About 10 of us from the bus gave it a try. Well it exceeded expectations and I can say without hesitation it was the best burger I ever tasted. Now America is known for its great hamburgers so I was skeptical going into it, but Fergberger is the real deal. The bread, the meat, the sauce. I would go back to Queenstown just to get another. It is not just a hit with backpackers, but also locals. The burger joint is open till 5 am everyday, to cater to all those late night partyers.
After the ecstasy I achieved while eating the burger, I was eager to see what this party capital of NZ was all about. First I had to digest it a bit and took a stroll along the lake with a Brasilian girl I had just met on the bus Danielle. The sun was just setting and provided a great view of the outstanding mountains, "The Remarkables."
Afterwards, still full, i met up with a group of friends at the Buffalo club. My mates staying at another hostel had a 2 for 1 drink deal with their hostel key so the price was right all night till midnight. To make things better, thursday night happened to be Buff Ugly night, a Coyote Ugly knockoff.
In the bar I ran into a long old friend, Brendan, the guy who got stung by a jelly fish back in Australia and I pissed on his leg. It was pretty funny thinking back on the whole story. He calls me his hero. But then again, he may be true, what if I did not urinate on his leg that one day? Maybe I did save his life. Definitely a great first night out in Queenstown.
Day 2: Friday February 19, 2010
Had a pretty solid sleep this morning after a great night out. Met up with Konrad around noon ish at his hostel. Recovered a bit and played some card games with Jitska, a dutch girl from the Magic Bus.
From there, Konrad and I walked up the street a bit and took the gondola ride up the nearby mountaint which provided great views of the lake and surrounding mountains,
Also up top was a luge ride. One of only 4 in the world like it. We gave it a go and it was pretty fun. Actually had some pretty decent speed. I wanted to go again after but I am holding out for Rotorua, where there is another luge and it is supposedly better.
After we made it back on the mountain, we got our daily cappuccino fix at a great lakeside cafe.
Nighttime about a group of 10 of us got together for a mexican dinner. I would have much rather opted for a second night of Fergburger, but figured it would be could to interact with people and save some money. Had some great chips and guacomole as an appetizer and the main meal were burritos. I got away without doing much of the cooking so was on dish duty afterwards.
Afterwards we hit the town. The scene was a bit more mellow than the night before at Buffalo bar but we still all had a great time. Afterwards we went to more of a real club, World Bar. You may recall there was also a World Bar in Kings Cross in Sydney. Ended the night there and made it back to the hostel around 330 where I only got around 4 hours of sleep before it was time for my day trip to Milford Sound.
Day 3: Saturday February 20, 2010 - Day Trip to Milford Sound
I woke up from the limited sleep feeling great. Headed to the nearby convenient store, picked myself up an apple danish and chocolate milk and I was good to go. Today was a great day, will go down as one of the highlights of my New Zealand trip. Milford Sound is the most popular tourist attraction in New Zealand and am not ashamed to say I followed all other tourists.
The tour consisted of a 5 hour road trip to Milford Sound, then a 2 hour cruise, then once again a 5 hour return bus trip to Queenstown. If you know how to add, that is a 12 hour trip, made for quite a long day. The bus ride itself was one hell of a tour, taking us through vast valleys and just a huge scenic playground. We stopped frequently along the highway taking in all the beauty this place had to offer.
Our bus was called the Milford Discovery, Konrad cleverly liked to call it the Milf Discovery. We also had about 6 asians on our bus. I still can't get over the amount of pictures they took. I took atleast 20 pictures for them. They will take pictures of ANYTHING
Been a pretty long post so far, just gonna lay down some pictures of this great day. Not much else to say anyhow. Just one of those places where nature itself just captivates you.
Konrad and I
On the bus ride back to town, Konrad was dropped off at Te Anau, a town about 2 hrs from Queenstown. We parted ways since he was doing a further south tour here on the south island. He was a great hiking buddy and a great guy to be around. we became very good friends in only a week.
Back in Queenstown, I was just drained from the day trip. I made way down to the lake to catch the sunset and photograph the glorious Remarkables one last time.
It was my last night in Queenstown and I was hungry. I headed to Fergburger where I ordered Mr. Big Stuff, a massive burger with Edam cheese, BBQ Sauce and Bacon. WHoo what a burger, I am missing it so much just as im writing this a few days later. The Mr. Big Stuff burger reconfirmed that Fergburger truly is the best burger I have ever had.
From there I digested my food a bit with a final stroll around town. Ended up seeing some people from the bus watching a firedancer near the lake. They were drinking a bottle of wine so I headed to the nearby liquor store and bought myself a personal 6 pack of Steinlager. I was so full but the beers tasted good. I originally planned on goin out but none of my friends were going out and I realized how tired I was from the full day of traveling. I knew I had some great 2 previous nights out so wasn't too worried about it.
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