The town of mad jumps and dives!
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2005
1
17
31
Trip End
Dec 21, 2005
Queenstown,
New Zealand
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Queenstown
Last night it felt like we had hardly slept, at 4.20am this camper van pulls up right next to us bearing in mind there was a car park 5 times the size of Sainsburys!! Blaring music and trying to put their bed up! I'm glad when we woke early in the morning the dogs were barking from the family camper also pulled up nearby hoping it would wake them up too!
When we stepped out of the camper van, the clouds were low and it was really peaceful and the lake was so still. The sun was shining so it was going to be another good day. We had breakfast and drove into the town where we parked for 'free all day' and went to check out the shops here.
Queenstown isn't as big as originally thought but it's very nice
Dan and the camp fire!
. It has the rows of shops, Queenstown Mall, the harbour where all the sail boats are and bars and cafes and then the remarkables, the mountains over the far side still with snow on the peaks. We took advantage of the cheap internet and stopped for lunch at a Thai $10 lunch special which was just lovely! All the shops here have snowboard sales with it being the end of season, I wish my bag was bigger! We stopped at a cool little pub for a drink and Dan watched the Middlesbrough V Man Utd match even though he already knew the score. We decided to stay on the campsite tonight walking distance from the town so we could have a walk into town and use the showers. We parked up and chilled out in the sunshine before taking a stroll into town to have a drink at the harbour side bar. We were back at the site for about 10.30 very tired from lack of sleep last night.Monday 31st October 2005
Queenstown
Had a lovely day today, after breakfast we parked up on the 'free all day' carpark again and Dan wanted to use the internet so I went off and had a hot chocolate on the harbour front for 1/2 an hour. Time seemed to go really quickly today so by lunchtime we grabbed a quick pasty and went to check out the Caddyshack, mini indoor golf which was so cool
Fishing at Moke Lake
. It had 18 holes and had a theme for each hole, an airport where the balls went through the planes (you would like that Matt!) and churchyards and stuff, it was good fun and we even got a free drink! While we were playing Golf, Kate and Andy text to say that they were on their way to Queenstown and to meet them on the free camping site at Moke Lake, 6km from Queenstown. A few hours later we took the drive to Moke Lake (after finding it) and they weren't there and as we had already text them back to say meet us first we weren't sure if they had crossed. We played frisbee for a bit and headed back into the town as we weren't sure if they would be waiting there for us. As we drove down the road, they crossed us and we both turned round and crossed again, it was so funny! Anyway, we ended up at Moke Lake, pulled on and parked up, to another 'hole in the ground' toilet full of flies!!! It was a gorgeous place to stay but the lack of facilities isn't the best when there is no toilet on board the camper van!!! The dirt track to the lake was a really nice drive, it was like we were just camping in a circle of mountains, covered in sheep and lambs bouncing around. There were cows over the cattle bridge and one had just given birth to the calf. There was only about 4 camper vans here all night, it was like we were in a secret location. We fished on the lake using Andy's rod and I caught a twig and a bit of weed (which was more than the boys may I add!)
Kate and I at Moke Lake
. The lads went off to get some wood to make a campfire and we sat round when it went dark watching the fire go out. We also saw a possum!! Our first possum experience. It was just wandering around and Andy spotted it with the torch. It was actually quite cute. The sky was really clear tonight and there were literally thousands of stars like I've never seen before.Tuesday 1st November 2005
Queenstown
White Rabbits!
Well time is certainly flying. It's the 1st November already and we will be flying to Oz in less than 2 weeks! What a great nights sleep we had. You couldn't even hear the sound of a single car, no wind, no rain nothing just peace and quiet! We woke about 8.45 am and Andy was already up fishing so I had a go while he ate breakfast. (I'm really getting the hang of it now). Dan had a go too while I ate breakfast and he's probably been the closest to getting one today. We drove off site to the town again and couldn't find a parking space so parked for 1 hour, we needed to use the internet and take Errol to the garage up the road to get the water pump fixed as it's not working (typical). When we had nipped to the garage and had the pump fixed, we went back to the car park but unfortunately there was no spaces so we drove round for a bit and found one on the road of which when we got back later today we had a $40 parking fine for PARKING THE WRONG WAY ROUND
Kate and I in Queenstown
! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Since we have had Errol, we have nearly ripped the roof off trying to park, nearly been towed away, ran out of fuel, Dan's had a speeding fine, the water pump broke, we get a speeding ticket and then nearly got stuck in a cattle grid!!! I am now ready to drop him off for someone else to use!We browsed the shops and Andy was looking round for another rod and we stopped off for a chicken bucket at KFC.
We decided to take the trip up on the Gondola and then have a go on the lube (or 2 goes!)they are these cool little Karts like super mario where you can go down 2 tracks, a scenic one and a fast one. Kate and I couldn't stop laughing and as you can imagine the lads were off racing so were long gone before Kate and I even got to the bottom.
The views from the top of the mountain were beautiful, you could see the Remarkables, Lake Wakatipu and the whole town. We stopped for while to watch some bungee jumps and then headed back down the hill to the fishing shop where Andy purchased his new fly rod! We called at the supermarket for some mile and marshmallows for the camp fire then headed back to Moke Lake for another night. Andy was really disappointed when it was too windy to fish and after collecting the wood for the campfire we never lit it!
Moke Lake!
We were in bed for about 10 pm. Wednesday 2nd November
Dan woke up in the night for the loo and I got out as well, and oh my god, what a sight. The sky was absolutely crammed with stars, more stars than I have ever seen in my life, we even saw the Milky Way! I was soooo glad I got up to see it it was just amazing. It was so cold outside it was like ice and we had no electric to plug the heater into so we were all fleeced up in sleeping bags. When we woke and I opened the camper door, the clouds were low on the lake and it was so still, definitely a picture moment (see photo when I attach it!).
We got up and after breakfast headed into Queenstown of which I'm updating the edition of the travel pod.
It's been an absolutely gorgeous day today so after walking back to the campsite we made a picnic lunch and sat outside reading books and chatting in the sunshine. As we lay on the grass we could see the paragliders jumping from the top of the mountain and sailing over us, it was so peaceful.
The lads got back to the site around 4.30 pm and Dan nipped off into town to get a hair cut as it has grown so much in the last 3 months. We cooked up some tea and sat outside eating it in the sunshine
Moke Lake! We found it!
. We decided to go into town tonight for a few drinks as we were staying at the campsite. We sat outside a lovely Irish Bar and then moved over closer to the harbour. They have a bar here called Minus 5 that is made of pure ice, everything from the bar, the stools and even the glass you drink out of. You get 1/2 an hour in the bar, they supply all the gloves and coats etc and you get one drink but for $25 which is about nine pounds odd we gave it a miss!! We had some bar chips and sat chatting which was nice. It was nice to get out of the camper van and be in a different atmosphere.We were back at camp for about 11 pm.
We are probably going to leave here tomorrow and head to Te Anau where we may go horse trekking, then Kate and Andy are going to Milford Sound. We have decided not to do Milford Sound as it's 4 and 1/2 hours there and back on one road and it has to be clear to see anything or you have to pay for a boat trip which after all the fines we have had we are giving it a miss! We will travel over to the East Coast and make our way to Christchurch for the 10th (my birthday!) where we will meet up with Wayne which will be nice. Updates will follow soon!
Comments
hello from Cornwall
hi you two still enjoying it all and still lots to see
what a great time you are having it's lovely to hear all the news and keep up with you on your travels. Keep them coming lots of love from auntie Pauline and uncle FrankXXXX