Thursday, July 16, 2015

Cromwell To Queenstown + Snaps

We drove the last 100k from Cromwell to Queenstown Thursday. Our slow-travel visit means we can stretch a 300k destination drive over three days or more and appreciate the journey. Just one pic from the road here, a twisting, turning snake through the mountains.

Wizard of Oz witch's castle for certain
(I'd turn back if I were you)

People love Queenstown, and it's easy to see why, even on a largely overcast day. The lake shore is lined with hotels and bars and eateries, everyone happily buzzed on one thing or another.

Nestled in the crook of massive Lake Wakatipu right up against the Remarkables mountain range.
(Trouble viewing map or video click here.)

Here's a remarkable shot of Qtown and the Remarkables that I didn't take

The town is crowded with happy holidaymakers (I'm not showing you the near-impassable sidewalks). It's the end of NZ's two-week winter school holidays, and someone mentioned today that Australia's last even a bit longer.

Queenstown is beloved for skiing and snowboarding, but it's also the capital of extreme sports, from skydiving and bungee jumping to a boat we saw today that looks like a shark and goes sub-marine during its ride. Seems they're always coming up with something crazy new. Check out the promo for  "Hydro Attack Queenstown--the ultimate blend of shark and machine," which is better with sound and makes me laugh out loud.

You can feel placid here too

We fly out tomorrow for Auckland, landing right back here in a week with the family posse. We can't wait to meet up Saturday morning in Auckland, where we'll begin our tour. Expect a lot of fresh faces (and less of Art's back) in the days to come. Maybe we can even round up a few guest-posters...

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