Getting Down in Queenstown: The Long Awaited Holiday

So I finally got my act together, made a decision, (Free choice is a privilege of the modern capitalist society, but sometimes life would be so much easier without the need to make choices) and packed my bags and got off the North Island. I decided on doing a trip around the South Island, and doing the things I didn't manage to do the first time - when I went around with friends in Summer, January 2003. I decided against anything international, simply because it would cost 10x more, and I didn't have a job/income to come back to, and it was adding another level of difficulty to the decision and planning.

I wrote most of the next few entries on my iPhone, on the Notes app, and then transferred them here. I am currently going through and editing them before posting, but you may notice the style being very "note-taking-like"

Tuesday 4/9
Dad drove me up to Auckland domestic airport, I hopped on a plane and viola! Queenstown. Plane didn't rev up like usual, disappointed, but when I got off the plane it was totally awesome - had to walk across the tarmac to the terminal - but with mountains with snow on the top as the backdrop - nice, and I'm not even a snow-bunny (I'm more of a water-baby, and it seems as though I have had 3 straight winters in a row at the moment.) I had done my research and saw that it was only 6km into town (and I had 2 hours before the hostel would let me check in, so I had contemplated hiking it, but then discovered it was only $6 for bus to town (I had a paranoia that Queenstown was going to be a tourist trap) so I took that option.

Dropped bags off (couldn't Check in until 1pm) at my hostel and proceeded to get lunch - across the road at Ferg burger, world famous in Queenstown apparently. I had the Big Al, and it really was big.

Afterwards I went for a walk and went to the underwater viewing room on the waterfront, which I remembered from 2003. It was still worth it, you get to see trout swimming around and every now and then a duck dives down for food. What surprised me (in 2003) is when the duck rises to the surface again, it tucks it's head into it's chest, I imagined it would have gone up nose first, but then I guess they would do it different to us as their nostrils are on the top of their nose, whereas ours are on the bottom.

That night I did a pub crawl. I saw they had one that went to an ice bar. You may have heard me mention that I have being wanting to visit an ice bar ever since 2010 when Merinda and I first stumbled upon the Absolut Ice Bar in London, which we never quite got to, and I missed out on going to the Auckland one. The pub crawl (and Ice Bar especially) was awesome. On the pub crawl I met some girls, including one from Hamilton, so will probably catch up again.

Wednesday 5/9

Got up and got the gondola up the hill and did the luge, always good fun.

On Monday night I had come across someone on Couchsurfing wanting someone to join them on a wine tasting thing - essentially as one of their mates pulled out. When the time came, they were too hungover, but I proceeded anyhow as the girls from the above mentioned pub crawl were apparently doing it too - but they never showed up either, so I was all alone, tasting wine in a shop (initially I assumed it might be in a nice winery or something,) I'm not a huge wine drinker as it is.

Thursday 6/9

There were 3 English guys in my room, and we'd gotten on on fairly well - they asked me if I wanted to join them climbing the hill (with the gondola and luges) so I did. Not an easy mission, but the luge rides were worth it. I was quite stoked on one of the runs I started at the back of the pack, but ended up winning. Once we got back down the hill we played a little bit of soccer, and had a beer.