Mercure Resort Queenstown

... Lake Wakatipu, and enjoyed some gorgeous views along with a play on the swings.


Then we went to the visitors' centre again to plan our trip to Milford Sound, and spent a couple of hours in an internet café. Pretty boring day for the adventure capital of the south island but nevermind! We made up for it that evening by going out to several bars and pubs and getting horrendously drunk with lots of ...

... opting for packed lunches but sitting outside to make the most of the live acoustic music and warm fires they have going to set the scene.

Other exciting news is that we have got ourselves a place to live, its in a big house by the lake and our room has French windows at the end that open out onto a balcony with amazing views over the mountains. I don’t think we will ever shut the curtain! Not sure how long we will stay in Queenstown but this place ...

... C******nay, reviewed as New Zealand's best C******nay. Many of the aged tasters complained that this wine did not meet their high expectations and that they had had better C******nays, but it tasted great to me (undoubtedly because I have had nothing better before). After the wine tasting, it was on to Robert Burns Pub for a Thursday night Jazz session with the Calder Prescott quartet.

Friday-Queenstown
Each precious minute was used as I ...

... in a plane and trying to kill himself along with some semi-clued in passenger. For a not inconsiderable fee of NZ$240 (about 100 yos) I would be doing some aerobatics. Thankfully Rupert was just the driver today - the more appropriately named Phil would actually be my pilot. Unfortunately though named slightly more aptly for dare devildom, Phil looked like he had just stopped using nappies. He was about 12 and a half if a day.

Aerobatics is ...

... we headed out. This soon turned into the ultimate game of ring of fire. (A drinking game for those of you that don't know). It involves a lot of knocking back your drink and lucky for me I was drinking beer otherwise I probably would have passed out. There were about 10 of us playing and one girl and a guy didn't even make it out to the pub. We headed to the Buffalo bar where it was two for one until midnight for anyone staying at our hostel and needless to say ...

... fear, fear, countdown. Again the same sort of feeling as the bungy: unconsciousness, realization, freefall, and some relief as you feel the tension of the wires and rope saving your life. During the swing backwards our feet swung up over our heads. We were sitting next to each other holding on with a death grip. We swung back and forth over the width of the canyon several times until they reeled us back in.

The next morning Andrew and I carried our bags in the rain ...

... or optional flight back. The flight back was iffy because of winds in Queenstown, but I had a long bus ride the next day, and as much I like the scenery, I was leaving the next day and did not want to sit on a bus 2 days in a row! The bus tour picked me up at the YHA at 7 a.m.. I had picked the "BBQ Bus" operation, because it was of the only ones that was small (20 people) and had a cook-out for the lunch option instead of a tourist cafe. We picked up the ...

... ad pauls nerves about the gondola ride! it was pretty steep! so went up, and i had given paul the ring which i had been carrying for the last week or so. we walked around to a place with not too many people, and paul chose his moment then, he turned to claire and said, "i was thinking with the nice view and all" as he went down on one knee. claire though he was messing and was about to slap him, but then he pulled out the ring and asked "will ...

... gehts dann wieder zurueck ins Top Ten. Dimarts III - III - MMIX Avui toca LOTR tour. Farem els "Trails of Middle Earth". Comencarem per Arrowtown (old gold mining town), un poble petit amb cases de fusta on hi ha un bosc just a tocar. Jamoree, que vol dir festa, era el senyal pels extres per tal de trobar la localitzacio a les ciutats, sense que la gent del poble s'en dongues compte que hi havia un rodatge a l'area... Cadascu rebia un planning molt estricte i detallat del ...