Queenstown is for lovers

We departed the Franz Josef glacier and set our course for the EXTREME capital of New Zealand, Queenstown. The drive was approximately 6 hours, but the stunning scenery really made it whisk by in a hurry. It is really beautiful out here. Mountains, lakes, rivers, trees, just awesome. We made it to about an hour outside Queenstown and stopped in a place called Wanaka for lunch. We saw a place that said Uncle Mike's BBQ with a special on sandwiches, so we decided to check it out. Great decision! The guy was from Kansas City, and his BBQ was top notch. Now I really can't wait to get back for some Rudy's, Rosa's, Matt's El Rancho, Torchy's, aaaahhhhhh I don't know how I will last.

We ate and headed toward Queenstown stopping at the famous 'Puzzling World!!' It was super sweet. Derek wasn't really feeling it, but it was right up my alley. They have this giant maze with bridges and huts and it was crazy. It took me about 40 minutes to do it, lots of fun. Then there was a illusion room with holograms, a slanted room where everything seems to roll/fall/flow the wrong way, and finally the hall of faces! The hall of faces was crazy, it was a giant room with faces of lots of famous people that seemed to follow you wherever you went, really cool. We finished that and headed for our final destination.

Queenstown!

Queenstown is really really cool. It is a small town on a lake, very clean, doesn't seem too busy, but it is! The main street is lined with offices for every extreme thing you could ever think of: bungy jumping, sky diving, canyoning, canyon swinging, day hikes, extended hikes, mountain climbing, 4 wheel driving, stunt plane riding, it is crazy! Behind this street is a little shopping center with gift shops and restaurants, it is really a neat set up. We crashed for the night in anticipation of our 3:30 date with the skys to dive out of an airplane the next day...

We got up the next day, rented our camping gear for the 3-day Routeburn track (which we were starting the next day) and went to check in at our skydive only to find out the entire day was canceled due to wind. We didn't understand. The weather was gorgeous! But New Zealand is crazy, we bought food and supplies for the hike and when we stepped outside no more than 20 minutes later it was pouring rain and the skys were covered in dense clouds. We rescheduled our skydive for the following morning.

The new plan: Wake up at 6:45AM, Skydive at 7:20AM, return before 11:30 AM, catch a bus to the Routeburn at 12:00 PM, hike our 2 and a half hour first day, then get good sleep for our 8 hour hike the next day. Needless to say, it was a little crazy.

We got up and the weather was once again beautiful and the skydive was on! We arrived to the drop site, suited up and awaited instructions. These were the extent of the instructions: fall like a banana, not a pineapple. Derek was a little anxious, I didn't really know what to think, so I was just chillin'. The plane started up and Derek, two girls, the 4 instructors, and I all piled into this tiny tiny cabin space in the plane. We were literally sitting on our instructors laps with the next people sitting right up to our cramped legs. The the plane rose... and rose.... and rose to 12000 feet. It is really, REALLY high. The door opened and the two girls scooted off. The next thing I know I'm on the edge of the plane door, then I'm falling at terminal velocity, spinning, upside down toward the earth. IT WAS CRAZY!!!! Derek said they fell straight out, normal orientation, but my guy must have been some kind of skydive stuntman. After spinning and flipping we somehow righted ourselves falling belly buttons toward the ground. What a feeling! It is kind of like flying, it doesn't hurt your stomach or anything and the view was amazing! A snow capped mountainous backdrop with more mountains in the foreground, a giant lake and rolling hills. Truly magnificent! The chute deployed and we floated (though much much faster than I would call floating) down to the earth. We slid in and took a deep breath. Scratch that off the list of things to do.

We got back to the city in plenty of time to grab some lunch at this place called "Fergeburger" which has huge, awesomely awesome burgers and boarded our bus to the track. Derek was feeling a bit under the weather (we think from the anxiety of thinking of skydiving for the past few days) but he was still alright to go. We did the two hour hike with our enormous backpacks and reached the hut around 6 o'clock. I made us some freezedri roast chicken dinner and then we went to sleep.

We woke up in the morning and Derek had fallen farther under the weather. And the weather was freezing, snowing on part of the track and raining on the other parts of an 8 hour hike with an approximate 800 foot ascent. We decided his condition wouldn't be good for the conditions ahead and had the DOC warden change our bus plans. We went back to the original drop and headed back toward Queenstown.

It was a little disappointing as the Routeburn Track is supposed to be one of the best in the world. In just those first two hours it was absolutely gorgeous. We walked through dense forest across a few rivers and creeks. The rivers disappeared into snow capped mountains with waterfalls flowing out of them. The valley that opened up when we reached the hut was something special as well. It was along a river with a stretching plane behind it leading up to mountains full of trees with mountains behind those you could actually see the snow falling on. It was a good decision to go back though, no harm done. We took a nap and headed back for the bus at 12, returning to Queenstown for a day of rest at around 3.

Tomorrow we take a bus and cruise to the Milford Sound, which is supposed to be fabulous. Cheers!