Back to ride the Shotover Jet

  Queenstown, New Zealand
Saturday, March 31, 2007

After getting a lot of the walking around town out of the way on our last trip to Queenstown, this time we scheduled some activities. Our friends had recommended the Shotover Jet, a jet boat that careens through a river gorge at 80 km/hr, turning 360s and generally trying to terrify the riders. It seemed adventurous enough (you have to do one adventurous thing in this city) so we signed up.

The boat ride gets a thumbs up from all of us. The driver knew how to nearly miss every branch and rock in the river. After returning to the city Mom, Julius and I took the Gondola up a mountain for some excellent views. They also had a luge course where you roll down in a little go-cart. Mom and I had done this when we were in Austria 15 years ago. We enjoyed it this time as well and Julius loved it. We went on it twice and we couldn't keep up with him.

We barbecued some steaks for dinner. New Zealand has some delicious steaks. New Zealand food is similar to Australian and American food. Lots of seafood and meat, especially on the barbecue. Of course both Australian and New Zealand follow the British tradition of savory pies and fish and chips. Every tiny town we drive through has at least two fish and chips stands. New Zealand also shares America's gigantic portions.

The next day was Palm Sunday which meant finding a church for mass. Queenstown had a nice Catholic Church that overlooked the town. Like many tourist towns there were a fair number of visitors but the congregation had a lot of regulars. What always impresses us is the diversity of the Catholic congregations wherever we go. Here we found a Filipino family, a Chinese family, a couple from South America and two men from Central America. This is not a diverse area but we manage to find the few non-whites in town.

Before heading to the west coast we made a stop in Arrowtown, one of the quaintest little towns in the country. Mom loves quaint so we had to get out and walk around a bit to see the shops. 

Hmmm... Do I want to put this on my face?

One place designed and made their own t-shirts. One was very cute with a camper trailer on the front. I nearly gasped when I saw the $110 price tag. For a t-shirt? Other shops were a bit more reasonably priced.

Further along the road were some wineries to visit. This part of New Zealand is at the same latitude south as Oregon is north. For that reason, they produce many of the same wines and many people here trained in Oregon. Small World...