queenstown

Well after several days in Queenstown, I'm feeling very ready to head back into the wilderness of the Routeburn Track tomorrow.

Queenstown is a great place, but it's also slightly exhausting and hard on the budget. Of all the places I've visited so far in New Zealand, this town is by far the most touristy. Even most of the people who work in the shops are long-term tourists. Queenstown is also the adventure capital of the world, and although I couldn't quite bring myself to break my budget on bungee jumping or skydiving (it's cheaper up north anyway) I did take a luge ride down a mountain, which was a lot of fun and gave me views of some great scenery.

Just outside of town is a place called Deerpark Heights, which is a basically a deer farm on top of a hill in the center of the valley. We drove out there the other day and saw some amazing views. And for those who are interested, it was also the site of several Lord of the Rings filming locations (mostly the second movie), which is always a little fun and exciting. Five of us went together and we stopped on the side of a hill for a tea break, and as we were sitting there enjoying our hot beverages, a deer just ambled on up to us and starting sniffing at our shoes! Even the deer here are used to tourists.

I had wanted to post some pictures since I finally broke down and burned some to a CD, but this internet cafe doesn't let you use CDs, so I guess it'll have to wait a few more days at least.

After the Routeburn we'll stop in Wanaka for a few days and then up the West Coast. Only three more weeks until we have to return our car! Time really does fly when you're enjoying life.