Lazing, then Canyon Swinging

Spot the whitest person on the boat!

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Queenstown is a bit of a shock after where we have been staying recently.  Is much bigger than I expected, lots of apartments, and just looks busy.  We cant get in the motor park we wanted in the town centre, as full up.  Is a very popular tourist place, which you've probably realised Im not a great fan of.  So first impressions arent great.

On Sunday we do absolutely nothing!!  We are in this exciting town with all this adrenalin around us and we choose this day to laze about.  Well I say laze about, we did the washing, went to the shops, then walked round Queenstown that evening, so wasnt entirely nothing.

I'm not impressed with the shops in New Zealand.  This shopping mall I had looked up turned out to be a few shops (maybe 10-15), and one place to eat.  There is a restricted choice out in New Zealand, which probably helps keeps prices high.

Was this really such a good idea?

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Monday makes up for Sunday!  I go on the Shotover Jet Boat in the morning, was excellent fun.  I was hoping to be a little more scared though, to be honest I've probably felt more anxious playing a computer game!  But was good nonetheless, and made me more determined to learn to sail this year, as I love the feel of being on a boat. I'd love to own a speedboat, think I'll add it to my new "Things to achieve before I die" shopping list. 

We move motor parks to the one in town, and is much better being near all amenities, especially the mediterranean market, which provides the first blueberries and raspberries Matthew has had since leaving home.  We have a BBQ for lunch, is great apart from Lloyd crying to be held and Matthew kicking the hummus (and everything/anything else) on the floor.

Holy Smokes

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Steve then sets off for his Canyon Swing (see www.canyonswing.co.nz for more info), which I had booked for him on Sunday.  He is truly crazy doing this, we had seen it on Jack Osbornes Extreme Thrills show, and Steve said he would do in Queenstown, so I just booked it up for him!!!  He loved it, came back and hasnt stopped talking about it since.  I've been trying to upload the video of his jumps on YouTube since, but cant get them on there.  The swing is like a bungy, bit you freefall for 60m and swing in an arc instead.  No way would I do it.  I couldnt watch as the kids couldnt go on the coach to the venue. 

So Steve got the pin pulled out on first jump, then he went back for more (crazy or what?!), and this time he jumped himself standing backwards!  He is dead proud of himself, and rightly so.  He said there were some young lads acting the "Big I Am", who were really petrified when it came down to it and only jumped once!

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow, we have at least another day in Queenstown, we may stay longer as now really enjoying it. I think I might book up a skydive for Steve, he has spoke about doing one for a few years now, and is much cheaper to do here than would be in the UK.  My philosophy is we might as well do these things whilst we are here, as will regret it afterwards otherwise.  There are plenty of things we cant do because of the kids, but I think we are still doing as much as other people who havent got kids from talking to them.  If anything it makes us enjoy activities more as are more focused on what we want to do and of getting maximum enjoyment out of it.

We have got over the size of the place and can now see the charm, and it really isnt as big as it first appears.  A nice place to visit, even if there are too many tourists, campervans and backpackers.

Oh, and just want to say thanks all for comments and emails.  It's nice to share our experiences, and primarily something I'm doing to keep a record for the kids for when they are older.  Keep the emails coming, its always good to hear about "normality", and from friends/family.