Joining the jetset

If you look really hard you'll see Gandalf
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Becks' diary:

Our road atlas, which highlights Lord of the Rings sets with little yellow camera symbols, is awash with yellow on the Queenstown page. The approach is spectacular. From high mountains you decend into views of verdant valleys and lakes, towards Queenstown, itself a pretty place in a great seting on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. The camspite is not as picturesque, but is close enough to the centre fo us to be able to walk in and sample some of Queenstown's much hyped nightlife.

Again a feeling of "where is everybody?' - there are plenty of bars with no one in them. We find a busier looking place with tables outside on a cobbled street and while away a few hours.

Every river has its jetboat in New Zealand but the Shotover Jet, through Shotover Canyon north of Queenstown, is supposed to be one of the best. The next day, after spending a couple of hours wandering the old goldmining village of Arrowtown, we head up to the Shotover Canyon, for our turn. After a quick safety briefing, "keep your hands in the boat if you want to keep them at all", we're off on a 20 minute ride of close-shaves and 360 degree spins, with top speeds of 80km/h on a boat that churns out 800 litres of water every second. Great fun, so fun you don't mind getting wet.

It's a 4 hour drive to Milford Sound from Queenstown and we plan to do a hike along the Routeburn track near the Sound on our way. With that in mind we set off that afternoon and spend the night in a basic campsite (the only running water is the stream nearby) that is beautiful, if more hospitable to sandflies than humans.