Queenstown - Remarkable(s)
Trip Start
Nov 12, 2007
1
23
40
Trip End
Aug 01, 2008
Queenstown,
New Zealand
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Apparently Queenstown is riding high in the voting for which cities should appear on the soon to be released world monopoly board and it is easy to see why.
It is difficult to put into words just how perfect the setting is. It is a good job a picture is worth a thousand words as our camera has saved me a lot of typing
Horse and Rider
. In brief there is a large elongated S shaped lake with mountains on all sides and Queenstown fits snugly around the right hand side of the middle of the S.The mountains are not huge but vary in shape and colour and include the aptly named Remarkables sitting above the town looking like a computer generated backdrop against the blue sky.And if this was not enough there is some strange atmospheric condition here that I never got to the bottom of which makes the air clearer and the light better so that you can see much more detail than normal.
And if this was not enough the city (small town size really) has a great feel to it. It is basically a tourist town with cafes bars boutique shops and a great lake front with grassy areas and craft markets.
And if this was not enough they have turned the entire area into a huge mad adventure playground for adults.There seems to be nothing you cannot do here. Bungy jumping started here and there are at least four sites. Jet boats roar off in all directions. Paragliders fly over. Helicopters buzz round. Mini buses go by at all times taking intrepid holiday makers off hiking rafting abseiling cycling etc etc etc.
So what did we do in the "Adrenalin capital of the world" Well firstly we went to watch sheep shearing! Actually it was a great trip. You take a 1912 coal fired steamer up the lake (the views!) to a sheep farm and then have a short tour to see feeding, a sheep dog display and after a wonderful afternoon tea (Cinnamon bread (lots)) a shearing display. Had not seen this before and did not realise quite how much the sheep disliked it. (The sheep had more of an Adrenalin rush than we did in our whole Queenstown stay- E)
Queenstown has the usual gondola up to the mountains behind ( I think that is 4 we have done now it is all merging into one). At the top you can bungy (no) or,of course, luge back down. So we donned our helmets and did battle round the chicanes.
Next we signed up for a full day guided walk. There are many tracks leading through the mountains including the Routeburn Track which takes 3-4 days to complete. We were only doing the first part about 12 miles there and back.As ever there were lovely views as we drove up to the start of the track. Apart from the guide there was only one other person on the trip so it was fairly relaxed though the guide was setting quite a pace. (For some reason I kept falling behind even on the downhill sections . With reference to Lord of The Rings it was like Strider (our guide Jase) leading the way with Rob (Speedo) and Nick (Marcho) at his heels, with me short legged Ploddo bringing up the rear - E) . We set off through the forest alongside a mountain stream climbing gently. The guide was entertaining pointing out things of interest along the way but even he was left speechless when we rounded a bend and walked on to a bridge. There in the water was a young blond female hiker showering in the stream. It was quite a busy track but she was quite unconcerned. In case there is suddenly an upturn of interest in our holiday photos this was one view which did not find its way onto the memory card. There were (other) great views on the walk as we rose higher up the valley.
On the way back we were delayed by what must have been 1000 sheep on the road. There was a shepherd and 3 dogs (one with 3 legs) and we sat back expecting a one man and his dogs demonstration but things were not going well. The sheep got split and about half went rushing up the road. The shepherd jumped on our bus and we went chasing the sheep with him shouting instructions out of the window at the dogs. We eventually got past the sheep and he got back out and we drove on feeling slightly disappointed that we had not seen how it ended.
Then I had the pressure of deciding which jet boat ride to go on next. There seemed to be about 5 to choose from and I put plenty of research in. They are all pretty similar racing at speed just missing cliffs trees etc. I chose an hour long trip taking in some more L of the R sights.
Emma decided she would go riding (see below) but this seemed far too dangerous for me and so I went white water rafting instead. This was brilliant. There are 2 options the Kawarau (you probably won't drown) and the Shotover ( you aren't going to stay in the raft) and I must confess I went for the "gentler" option. So there I was dressed in a wetsuit life jacket and coat sitting on a bus as we were being driven to the river. Slightly worryingly as they dint normally seem to worry in NZ we had to sign a waiver form. I didn't read the small print (not being a solicitor any more) but I think it basically said if you were swept down the river it was your own fault. However it was not too intense a few rapids that were great fun but not too challenging and periods of just cruising down the river in the sunshine looking at the views. We did jump out a couple of times to swim and the hardest part was getting back into the raft. (very undignified). We did go under the "historic" site of the world first commercial bungy jump. We were able to watch a jumper from below as she plummeted down and splashed in the water next to us. An interesting perspective. (R)
While Rob was dicing with death on the rapids, I was pursuing a gentler activity. I have not ridden a horse regularly since I was 15 and the last time I was on one was when I was 30 and it took me fortnight to recover from the aches and pains.
There were 4 of us in the trekking group and I opted for a stables only 20 minutes from Queenstown. For the sake of my out of condition muscles, I chose a short ride of only 1.5 hours. The other 3 girls - 2 Irish and 1 Japanese, had even less experience than me. We all nervously eyed the horses as they arrived and started having second thoughts when we saw the size of them. I wished I had lied about my height and said 4' 8" so that they had given me a Shetland Pony. We were soon on board, no mean feat when you haven't got up on a horse for so long, but I managed it without creating any material for the blog.
My steed was Jake and although he was 18years old he was looking at everyday objects like rocks and branches as though they were potential monsters,which didn't steady my nerves. Gail our instructor gave us some good advice, treat the horses like men - give them a good kicking and tell them what to do. Once she had told us that , I was in my element, nothing to it!!
We did a slow but dignified walk around the side of Moke Lake and the lake and mountains looked beautiful in the morning sunshine. Gail took lots of photos of us and we trekked for a while through farmland and along a river. All too soon it was over and we were back on solid ground. And yes, I am still suffering with saddle sore, but what a good way to see the scenery on an animal 4wd. (E)
