Queenstown

Last weekend, I headed over to Queenstown with the other Arcadia Study Abroad students. We spent 2 1/2 days in the adventure capital of the world, jet boating, hiking, luging, and, for the brave ones, bungy jumping.

The drive to Queenstown took a little over 3 hours. When we arrived, we checked into the Pinewood Lodge where I shared a tiny room with 5 other girls. It wasn't the greatest, but it was a place to sleep. There was a kitchen, too, so I was able to bring food from home instead of eating out all weekend.

After everyone was settled in, we drove to the Shotover River where we took a jet boat ride. I had a blast! The boat only needs 4 inches of water to operate on, and our driver was a maniac. (Well, I guess all of the drivers are crazy. That's what makes the ride so exciting!) We came within inches of scraping against rock walls and running into logs, and we did lots of 360º turns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBT-2yGXVwU&feature=related

The rest of the night was open for free time. I went to downtown Queenstown with Cleo, another Arcadia student. It was really touristy, but so charming at the same time.

In the morning, we had the option of either skiing/snowboarding or hiking. I chose to hike. Everyone going on the hike had to be ready to go at, as they say, "7:45 AM in the morning". We drove over an hour to the start of the Routeburn Track. I had been told to wear lots of warm clothing. Usually, there's lots of snow and the temps are pretty low when the group does the hike at this time of year. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous day. Unfortunately, I wore way too many layers and had nothing to put them in as I took them off.

After crossing the third swinging bridge about an hour and a half into our hike, we stopped for "morning tea". I ate a Luna bar and filled up my water bottle in the river flowing by, and then we continued on. If I thought the first section was hard, I was in for a big surprise for the second section! It was almost continuously uphill. After 2 or so hours of huffing and puffing my way up the mountain, I finally made it to the Routeburn Falls hut where we could eat lunch. By that time, my stomach was growling and I inhaled my food. Jane, the Arcadia director in NZ, made us a hot blackcurrant drink. (Usually by the time people get to the hut, they are frozen and the warm drink is perfect. This time, we weren't really frozen, but the hot drink was still perfect.)

I went with a group heading up even further to go see a lake. At this point, we had finally reached some snow. Again, it was mostly uphill and steep, but I felt determined to stick with the group. We made it to the lake, but had to turn around immediately if we were to make it back to the bus in time. Of course, the way back down was much easier, but it still took at least 3 hours. I chatted with a new friend, which helped pass the time.

As we got closer and closer to the end, my feet and my legs were getting more and more sore. (They are still hurting now! It's hard to walk!) We made it, though, and we weren't even the last ones. The bus took us back to Queenstown and we ate delicious pizza at Winnie Bago's. I walked back the the Lodge, took a shower, and passed out on my bed.

Sunday was more laid back, but still a lot of fun. We took a gondola ride to the top of a mountain. From there, we strapped on helmets, hopped onto a chairlift, and came sliding down the hill on a luge track. I had a blast! We each got to take 3 rides. We had to take the slower scenic route to get used to it, and then we could do the advanced route. The scenery was amazing and I hardly felt the cold.

After taking the gondola back down, the bungy jumpers left for their adventure. No way did I do that! I went to a restaurant called Ferg Burger with a friend. (Jane was giving recommendations for restaurants on Friday night. She mentioned Ferg Burger, saying it in her cute NZ accent. Then she paused and said, "Ferrrg Burrgerr, as you Americans say".) It was crowded, but for a good reason. It was delicious! I had a burger with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and some kind of sauce. I must have been hungry, too, because I was able to eat the entire thing. Celia and I went shopping at Glassons, a chain of clothing stores, and we got a free fudge sample at a candy shop.

All of the non-bungyers hopped on the bus and drove to Arrowtown, a famous gold town. We only had 20 minutes to walk around, and I think it was really just a way to kill time while we waited for the bungy jumpers to finish. I got some walnut and coffee ice cream, though, which was superb. My group then went to the first ever bungy bridge and saw about 10 people jump. The brave Arcadia kids met up with us there and we headed back to Dunedin.