GORGEOUS Queenstown

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When we arrived in Queenstown, it soon became apparent that we should have pre-booked some accommodation. The first four hostels that we tried were fully booked... but then we found a great place. It was a serviced room that was part of a hostel and our room led straight into a cosy living room with dining area and kitchen which we had virtually to ourselves. We decided there and then to stay two nights! The evening was spent catching up on laundry, relaxing and having a delicious Indian take-away in our comfy new "home". To our delight, the next morning was beautiful and sunny and we had a big leisurely breakfast with the sun streaming in through our French balcony doors.

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Our trusty Lonely Planet describes Queenstown as a place that's "the size of a small town but with the restlessness of a city" and sums it up exactly. There are a whole lot of adrenalin activities on offer, from jetboating and whitewater sledging to off-road biking and rock climbing. We did none of that - in fact quite the opposite, as we felt like a bit of relaxation. We wandered down to the waterfront and watched paraflying on Lake Wakatipu before checking out Underwater World (which is much smaller than it sounds: it's actually just one room with a handful of large windows looking out under the lake) where you can watch (huge) trout being fed. The highlights are the scaup (diving ducks) who are quite partial to the fish food!

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I checked out a couple of galleries where I fell in love with two pieces: a painting by NZ artist Juliet Best (do check out some of her stuff, the colours are amazing - http://www.statementsgallery.co.nz/html/artists/index.htm?artist=109) and a wooden sculpture by Anna Korver (I couldn't find anything quite as nice online but this gives you an idea - http://www.artists.co.nz/a.korver.html). At $1660 and $2500 respectively, I decided that we'd have to live without them :o)

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In the afternoon, we visited "Wine Tastes", an extraordinary wine shop where you can do tastings at your own leisure. Prices range from $1.50 to $30 (!) per tasting and we had a wonderful time. The pinot noirs were very yum! Afterwards, Dean chilled out watching a video while I spent hours (literally) in the Bead Shop, a great place where you can design and make your own jewellery. I left with two bracelets and a necklace! The weather is unfortunately very changeable and today was quite cool. We had such an enjoyable day though!!

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I really love Queenstown with its waterfront, small town centre, funky shops, quirky galleries, hilly streets and very friendly people. I could easily see myself spending quite a bit of time here. In fact, I spent the best part of an hour trying to persuade Dean that we could do just that! My argument was that all we had set up for Melbourne was our flight tickets... but then Dean reminded me of that rather costly Australian visa which I had managed to get against all odds! ;-)

In the evening, we strolled around the Queenstown Gardens where you get a great view of the Remarkables, a razor-sharp and almost black mountain range that forms part of the Southern Alps.