Day 55- Queenstown

We drove the 3 hours to Queenstown, situated on Lake Wakatipu. The drive is what we were used to by this point- majestic peaks descending into crystal clear lakes of a color blue I have only seen in postcards. The lake is long- it took us almost an hour to drive up half of its length to get to Queenstown. It didn’t help that on the way we almost got run over by a house. As we were driving down this narrow 2 lane road (which serves as the main highway), cars ahead of us were passing a truck and pulling onto the grass. Strange. The car then passed us and told us to do the same. We did, and perplexed, saw a utility truck with the strangest sign I have ever seen on top of a pole from the bed: House Follows.

I’m sorry? A house is following you? That sounds like a personal problem. It is here when we see a very stressed looking flatbed towing a very whole house. It is then that we realized this was everyone’s problem. The house was attached to the truck by a few seemingly pitiful cables, and as it neared we noticed it probably wasn’t going to fit, smashing our van to pieces and sending it careening to the lake below, all so that someone could move their domicile to a better location. Luckily, the truck knew what it was doing, and we narrowly missed what was sure to have been an utterly horrendous multinational catastrophe. After that completely bizarre encounter, we were on our way to Queenstown.

The town itself with a population of about 13,000, is labeled as the adventure capital of the world, and it lives up to the name without a doubt. The town itself is not much of an exciting place- out of the whole of the south island I would personally label it (though I would not be the only one to do so) the most ‘touristy’ place. Unlike most of the other towns and locales we had visited, this place had bars upon bars, tons of souvenir shops, more restaurants than there ought to be, and other instruments of a busy society. The streets were packed and fast, and the town itself was quite condensed. The town being unremarkable didn’t bother me much, though- the majesty of the area around me kept my eyes diverted away from civilization. We got in and were immediately struck by the position the town is on the terrain- it is settled in between two mountain peaks, overlooking a placid lake that itself is surrounded by mountain peaks. The lake, which stretches as far as the eye can see left and right, is only a mile or two across. The other side was easily approachable and visible, but uninhabited (which made the view even better in my humble opinion). With only a day in Queenstown, our options for adventure were limited (as was our budget). Kayaking, Skydiving, Jetboating, helicopters, flying, paragliding, and a whole host of other options were cancelled out. We decided in the end to split up. I decided I would hike a small mountain.

I don’t remember the name of the peak, but it was within sight of Queenstown, and was pretty steep. Our initial climb was the hardest- roads that went straight up the slope to the ritzy new developments were the most taxing. Once we were on the trail however, the path flattened out and took a more meandering course. After a 90 minute walk to the summit, I wasn’t ready to call it quits. I said goodbye to my friends who hiked with me, and decided to set out a bit on my own. I found a small narrow footpath, barely large enough to walk on. I later determined it was probably a route for sheep, as this was a farmer’s land that he granted public access to. I walked along this for another 40 minutes or so, simply wandering wherever the path took me. The forest up the other side of the mountain we had hiked (which was reminiscent of Appalachia more so than anywhere else I had yet set foot on) was replaced by rolling, flowing golden grassland. On top of his peak were swamps, ponds and fantastic views. As I rounded the mountain and came to the far side, where Queenstown was just a memory, I was hit by one the most beautiful sights I have ever beheld. The pasture gave way to steep declines, which allowed me to see a rustic mountain valley, bathed in the late afternoon sun. The golden peaks were split in the center by a steep valley, which flattened at the bottom for a few kilometers, then rose itself into a third, middle mountain range. These red peaks were either barren or coated in golden grass plains. The sunbeams were visible- they illuminated the central ridgeline, making the light and shadows in the scene almost palpable. It was a sight to behold- and for once, I am glad I didn’t bring my camera along.

That night in Queenstown we went out to a local bar/pool hall and played a game or two, and met both our friends the Brits from the two days before, and the German Pals of Jens and Fabian. Kristen also made a new friend (as she does everywhere) and we added a Dutch girl to our ensemble. After a night full of conversation (surprisingly deep conversation, I might add) we called it a night.