Queenstown and Wanaka!

From Te Anau we made our way to the bustling hub of Queenstown.  Queenstown is small and the equivalent to our Banff all though it feels more geared towards the backpacker crowd (lucky us!).  We had three amazing days of sun and after taking advantage of one of their many laundry services spent a few lazy days reading by the lake, perusing farmers and artisan markets and admiring the stunning surroundings.    

  

Our second night we stayed at a campground in a valley that was also being used as a film location and I didn’t see much of Colin as he attempted to get in the background of shots, considering he was 400 m away I doubt he was successful.  

Our last day in Queenstown we dove a very steep and bumpy road to the Remarkable’s Ski Hill for a hike.  Colin’s knee was sore from the Kepler so I went on the hike on my own; I was told you could climb to the top by following the path under the lift and the first part of the hike was steep but easy to follow and then the trail ended. I could see where I wanted to go and was told there was a path.  Not being able to find anything that resembled a path I stated up negotiating large boulders and loose shale rock. The view from the top was amazing and I could see all of the Queenstown area; on the steep descent back down I found the path which was a thousand times easier than the route I had chosen, but my way was a lot funner.

Yesterday we drove north to Wanaka, another tourist hotspot and visited Puzzlement World.  The attraction is a mixture of maze, optical illusions and puzzles.  Yes, I am a huge dork and was really excited to go.  We and our marriage survived their 3D maze which was a lot harder than we expected (took an hour to get out) and the optical illusions included hundreds of heads that followed you around the room, holograms and a crooked house.  It was all a lot of fun! 

Today we spend the day in Wanaka before heading further north to the Mt Aspring National Park.

ps: Happy Birthday Linda!