Xtreme Sport Capital of the World

A panorama of Queenstown
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We left the Bay of Islands a little skeptical as we were told to get to the airport 30 mins before our flight.  This is the smallest airport I've ever been to as it has a sliding glass door as the entrance and one place to check in.  No ids were checked, and my hand luggage was never looked at either.  It felt weird to be in such a small place.  Auckland airport was much larger as we had to check back through security before continuing on.  But we made it to Queenstown after taking the shuttle with a "too funny" driver who made jokes at everything and then turned serious the next minute.

Bill and Michelle on their way up the mountain
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We went to info to find a place to stay but the line was so long the we just went to the YHA hostel and were able to get a double room for the next few days.  We then took to checking out town and trying to figure out exactly where we could rent equipment from.  We stopped at PJ's for some fish and chips.  But then the search continued as we went into every sporting goods shop trying to figure out just want we would need for this trek. Bill finally gave me a break and took me to see "My Best Friend's Girl."  I guess he took me to a chick flick just because this was the first time we'd made it to the movies after numerous attempts.

Michelle showing off her skills on the way down
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The next day we headed up the Gondola as we were told to check out the sky luge. I'd never done it before, but it looked like a less advanced go cart and I could control how fast I went by pulling back on the break. And I used that break as I could smell the burning of the rubber as I took some corners and wanted to slow down.  But then we were able to take the chair lift back up for another round down the track.  The first time we took the scenic route, and the last two times we took the advanced route.  By the last one, I finally took some corners with speed.  We went for a stroll around the sky area and then headed back down to have some Whitexican food for dinner.  Bill's said, "I warned you that you can't get good Mexican food where it snows!"

Bill and Michelle enjoying the view
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Bill decided that he could drive on the left side, as I am without a valid driver license until we see my parents in Australia as it arrived after I left the country.  But after looking at the free activity booklet that Queenstown provided, we found a puzzling world and cinema paradiso would be good places to go but they were in Wankaka which was actually 100 km from Queenstown.  So we got a car to go check out this area.

We arrived and Bill wanted to take a hike that lonely planet had recommended but the person at the information station said it was another hour drive to get there and the clouds looked pretty horrid over there.  So we ended up taking a shorter Iron Man walk up to see the valley, it was straight uphill for a solid 40 mins.  Good prep for Milford I told myself as I huffed and puffed up the mountain.  When we started at the bottom, we saw an older man who looked like he did this hill quite often for exercise, and he replied, "You can go ahead of me if you like."  I laughed as we never actually saw him again and he went up the mountain.

A look down the lake
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This walk happened to be across the street from Puzzling World.  This place included an indoor walk through area that included many holographic pictures, followed by a whole room where the faces followed you as you walked around, and then had two doors where you entered one side and you were a giant and the other side you were really small.  There was a tilted room that made you feel sideways, or dizzy if you're me.  And outside, there was a giant maze that Bill and I got lost in.  But the challenge was to find all four corners in order, yellow, green, blue and then red.  The average time for that was 1 to 1 1/2 hours, and we did it in around 46 mins or so.  But my favorite part was simply sitting at the tables where we had so many choices of puzzles to play.

A sign pointing out all of our destinations
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But then it was still early and the movie at Cinema Paradiso didn't start until 8:10 so we went for a scenic drive, and returned to town around 7:10 to go check out the movie to find out that it was sold out.  The movie theater was recommended because it was set up with couches and looked fun, but also had homemade ice cream and fresh pizza you could get as well.  But the movie was sold out since there was probably a tourist group coming through Bill was told.  So disappointed, we just continued on the road not wanting to eat.

A view out over Lake Wanaka
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We tried to eat in Arrowtown which is an old gold town just outside of Queenstown, but since it was 9:00 already, we couldn't find any kitchens open to feed us.  We just walk through the small area of town and headed back to Queenstown where we hoped we could still find food. And food we found as Bill brought back Freg burgers, which are the biggest burgers I'd ever had before.  They are twice the size of normal burgers.  We also had to pack up our stuff that night as we had to switch rooms since we'd only originally booked three nights and were now staying a fourth night.

Bill and Michelle at the top of Mt Iron
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And so our last day in Queenstown brought us canyoning.  What is this you may ask?  Basically, you're put into a full wet suit brought to the back of a canyon where you zip line into the canyon and walk down the river.  Climbing, scrambling, sliding, and jumping your way through the water inside a narrow canyon.  Think of Man vs Wild, except with a wet suit helmet and safety gear.  Cool I know, and it was Michelle's idea.

As we were suiting up, Michelle came runing to me all excited asking me to look at her, she managed to find a helmet with the name Mojo (her cat) writen on it.  Feeling the Christmas season, I chose a helmet with Santa on it.  So after a short walk through the bush, we ziplined across the canyon to abseil down into the cold (fresh melted glacier ice) water.  Once down in the canyon we started scambling across the rocks through the raging water.  At the first small waterfall we lined up and basically slide down through the water fall.   The next obstical we climbed to a top of a rock and belly flopped into the water (well except Michelle who tried diving).

The maze at Puzzling World offered little challenge as it was quickly conquered
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Next we came to a large water fall maybe 5 meters where their was a narrow space we could jump off.  Michelle went to the edge, looked over and decided to take the repelling option.  I just jumped before I had a chance to think if it was a good idea.  Once I jumped, Michelle made two more attempts but both times turned back as she looked down.

We then climbed back up the side of the canyon to zipline to another pool where we stopped in the center of the zipline, to lower ourselves into the water.  Of course you had the option of pulling the cord and letting yourself fall.  Michelle, took the cautious approach and lowered herself into the water running out of rope before releasing herself.  This pool was deeper and offered a couple of different jumping options from as high as 10 meters.  I took a couple of jumps while Michelle watched from below.

The crazy buildings of Puzzling World
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The day did not go entirely smooth after tackling all the tough challenges, Michelle's foot got caught in a rock and with the strong current pushing her, she slight twisted her ankle.  The cold water acted as a ice pack and she continued to scamper over the rocks and out of the canyon.  However, after the bus ride back to town she was walking very gingerly.

And so, we continued to get ready for Milford track as I hobbled around.  Bill took me to Hell's Pizza because I wanted some greasy food.  We headed to the grocery store and brought our supplies for the next 4 days and picked up all the equipment we rented.  I stayed on the bed with my foot elevated as Bill did most of the getting.  And I sat there wondering, can I actually hike with this foot?  I was beginning to get worried, but it seemed too late to back out...

One of many beautiful views around Lake Wanaka
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Michelle (with Bill talking about the Canyoning)