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Queenstown, New Zealand

Sightseeing

Sunday, August 19, 2007

My brother getting ready for fun.

John and Di hosted a BBQ for our family and friends. It was good to see everyone having fun in one place at the same time.

Later that afternoon, I said goodbye to everyone. Then, Lawrence and I packed our things into the rental car and headed to the airport. We stayed at the Airport Hilton hotel that night to ensure we wouldn't be late for our early flight to New Zealand the next day. We arrived around dinner time, had a light meal, and went to bed early.

Monday, August 20, 2007

The New Zealand Southern Alps.

After checking in for our flight to New Zealand, we bought coffee from a company at the airport called Hudson Coffee. Their marketing slogan is "Australian Coffee." It was honestly the best coffee I have ever tasted—smooth and creamy without any bitterness.

Sunset on the drive to Queenstown.

The flight from Melbourne to New Zealand took about three hours. It was a very clear, cold day, but with lots of sunshine, both in Melbourne and Christchurch, our destination. After arriving in New Zealand, we picked up our rental car and hit the road around 4:00 p.m. local time, heading to Queenstown. New Zealand is simply beautiful—there's no other way to describe it. We took the inland route from Christchurch to Queenstown, and since it's a seven-hour drive, half of the trip was in darkness. It was a shame because the first part of the journey, during daylight, offered spectacular views.

Jet boating on the lake.

The route took us to Lake Tekapo, where we stopped for a delicious sushi dinner. The next town on the drive was Twizel. Yes, Twizel—I'm not kidding. After dinner, we switched drivers, and Lawrence took over for the night drive. I fell asleep right away, as I tend to do when I'm a passenger in a car.

When I woke up, Lawrence was wired after drinking a beverage called "V," a highly caffeinated drink designed to keep you awake in such situations. He explained that he hadn't seen a light, farmhouse, car, or any sign of civilization since I had fallen asleep, which had been two hours earlier—this is a desolate part of New Zealand. We made it to Queenstown around 10:30 p.m., found our accommodation, and then headed to a nearby shopping center to stock up on breakfast essentials for the week ahead.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Queenstown from above.

We spent the day touring Queenstown, which has a typical ski-town vibe. It's also the center of all adventure activities in the area.

You can arrange to jump off bridges, jump out of airplanes, jet around the sound in a jet boat, or slide down the mountain on a log. Queenstown sits next to a very large lake surrounded by towering mountains, some of which are snow-covered for most of the year. It's a beautiful place. While exploring the town, we discovered that several companies offered heliskiing, which involves a helicopter taking you to remote, snow-covered mountains to ski in the backcountry. It was just too tempting, so we booked ourselves for a heliskiing session for the upcoming Friday.


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