Queenstown

The Remarkables!
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In Queenstown we camp in a site set between a beautiful lake and a sheer mountain wall the peak of which is reached by an almost vertical looking cable car.

Ohhh cable cars and heights, my favourites!!!  The views are staggering nontheless, across from our camp are "The Remarkables" mountain range, and they bloody well are as well!  This huge range of peaks stretches away out of sight on either side of us like a row of giant teeth, just across the lake which reflects them like a huge mirror.

Fear and loathing on the way to the luge
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The town itself has a kind of Alpine vibe only without the irritating french.  Lots of very nice bars and restaurants with huge log fires blazing away.  One in particular has a gigantic circular fire pit in the middle of the bar, very warm very nice to look at, and joy of joys the bar man comes from Southampton. Kim and I do the "This is what champions look like" dance. Unfortunately as we're wearing thermal longjohns, vests,base layers, merinos, coats, hats and gloves we look a little like overstuffed robins capering up and down the bar, most Kiwis look a little nonplussed but the barman is suitably downcast which of course was the object.

View of "the Remarkables"
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Having experienced Christmas in dour Hanoi we start to consider a late (early?) Christmas celebration amidst all this snow and splendour.

We do a little shopping and after a fruitless search approach a young assistant.

"Have you any candles?"

"Candols?"

And UUUUP we Goooooo!!!
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"Not  quite.... nearly....Candles"

"What do they look like?"

"About so big, madev of wax"

"What do you use them for?"

We're how far from home??
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"To light a room"

"OOOH!! you mean light bulbs"

"No, we mean candles"

"Never heard of them"

All true, honest!

I suppose one difference between here and the Alps must however be the New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels, which get served apparently by the ton in every kind of sauce you can imagine......bloody marvelous!!

We have a day of somewhat feverish activity.  Having booked a "Shotover Jet Boat" ride we head on up the mountain by cable car, then higher by ski lift to have a go on the luge.

Well!!  hurtling toward sheer drops toward snow capped crags in a tiny sled with no apparent means of braking sounds like fun I'll grant you, but in reality it's a complete blast!!

Despite all the snow we have a perfect blue sky and noshing on our lunch at the mountain top lodge we sit outside in beautiful sunny heat, then make our way down the mountains like the condemned toward the shotover express boat pick up.

Part of the river here was used in the Lord Of The Rings.  Cut through a narrow very deep gorge the river rushes and roars through shallows, deeps, across busted trees, rocks, and past overhanging vertigo inducing rocks.

Gandalf, Dildo and co did it in paddle boats.....we did it at 80KPH..... some times backwards....doing 360 degree spins...sometimes backwards...and hurtling toward sheer cliffs, across rock beds and barreling across downed trees and sheets of ice. A fantastic  experience, just a real adrenalin rush and in such a setting!!

Definately some of the most dramatic scenery we have ever seen....

traveling backwards....

at 80 kph.....

eyes streaming.....

bulging from their sockets.....

in fear and terror....

faces so frozen.....

no one can hear you scream.....

really you have to try it!!!