Queenstown Adventures
Aug. 19th, 2018 02:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetQueenstown bills itself as the adventure capital of NZ. There is skiing and rafting and jet boats and bungy jumping and more. There town itself is a fast-growing tourist center clinging to the slopes of mountains around a long, narrow, deep, and very cold glacial lake.
After a lovely breakfast here at our hotel we wandered down into the center of town. And by "down" I mean down a fairly steep walkway to the street, down a somewhat gentler hill for a block, and then down five flights of steps. We wandered along the lakeshore and then out around the peninsula of public gardens jutting out into the lake and offering more amazing views. We shopped a bit, had lunch, then headed back up the hill to the SkyLine Gondola that would take us up to the top of Bob's Peak, so we could jump off it.
We've jumped off the Sky Tower on what Jason a ptly describes as a vertical zipline. And we've taken a SkySwing off the edge of a mountain in Rotorua. So how could we come to the home of bungy jumping and not give it a try? Turns out that it's the best of them all! Stepping off the ledge is terrifying, but freefalling through the air, hundreds of feet above the town, is exhilarating and heart-opening and thrilling. Alice loved it--she was doing balletic tricks at the end of the rope. I hope I get to do it again one day!
After that we all just wanted to chill, so we came back to the hotel for a bit before heading out again for dinner at Roaring Meg's. Named for a renowned brothel-keeper, it is now famous for lamb. We shared a plate of meats and cheeses and then Alice and I both had their famous lamb confit, served with three roasted ribs, gratin potatoes and roasted veggies. Jason had the wild venison with roasted pears. For dessert Alice had the apple & berry crumble, Jason the chocolate mousse, and I went with the Eton mess--the best version I've ever had. Nothing I ate was less than delicious and I was very happy. While Jason and I had lattes after dinner, Alice finally got to try a "fluffy," a cupful of milk foam with cocoa sprinkled on top. She's hoping they'll catch on in the States.
I almost forgot...on the way to dinner we stopped back at Walk-In Wardrobe, a second-hand shop where Alice had earlier tried on a gorgeous leather jacket that she couldn't further. It was still there and she decided to buy it with her own money. It looks amazing on her, fits with room to grow, and was only $40. She is over the moon about it and never wants to take it off.
This morning we decided we needed some downtime, so after breakfast we spent an hour reading and relaxing at the hotel. Eventually we wandered back down to the main shopping streets and found lunch at the Pier Restaurant, where Alice bravely ordered the mussels for the first time on her own.
Nomad Safaris picked us up at 1:30 and our guide, Ilya, took us and another party of three out to see more filming locations from The Lord of the Rings. We drove West along the lake stopping at various lookouts as he told us stories about what was filmed where. We visited the place where Sam stewed the coneys and the armies of Sauron marched through with oliphaunts. We stopped at the field where most of the views of Isengard were filmed. We drove along the Dead Marshes and stopped for tea in Lothlorien and everywhere we went the mountains towered in the background in every side. It was epic!
Back in town I decided that I wanted better Japanese food than we got in Dunedin and online reviews led us to Tanoshi. That was marvelous--fabulously rich miso soup, the best gyoza, and wonderful chicken tempura were the highlights, but everything we had was tasty.
Ferg is a food empire here in Queenstown. The line for Fergburgers snakes down the block at all hours, the one for Mrs Ferg's Bakery is equally long in the morning, and there's also a gelateria--thankfully the line there is much shorter. I had a tiny serving of mascarpone fig almond that was the perfect ending to the day.
Tomorrow we head north again to the west coast. Cross your fingers that the weather is good enough for us to fly up to the glaciers!
After a lovely breakfast here at our hotel we wandered down into the center of town. And by "down" I mean down a fairly steep walkway to the street, down a somewhat gentler hill for a block, and then down five flights of steps. We wandered along the lakeshore and then out around the peninsula of public gardens jutting out into the lake and offering more amazing views. We shopped a bit, had lunch, then headed back up the hill to the SkyLine Gondola that would take us up to the top of Bob's Peak, so we could jump off it.
We've jumped off the Sky Tower on what Jason a ptly describes as a vertical zipline. And we've taken a SkySwing off the edge of a mountain in Rotorua. So how could we come to the home of bungy jumping and not give it a try? Turns out that it's the best of them all! Stepping off the ledge is terrifying, but freefalling through the air, hundreds of feet above the town, is exhilarating and heart-opening and thrilling. Alice loved it--she was doing balletic tricks at the end of the rope. I hope I get to do it again one day!
After that we all just wanted to chill, so we came back to the hotel for a bit before heading out again for dinner at Roaring Meg's. Named for a renowned brothel-keeper, it is now famous for lamb. We shared a plate of meats and cheeses and then Alice and I both had their famous lamb confit, served with three roasted ribs, gratin potatoes and roasted veggies. Jason had the wild venison with roasted pears. For dessert Alice had the apple & berry crumble, Jason the chocolate mousse, and I went with the Eton mess--the best version I've ever had. Nothing I ate was less than delicious and I was very happy. While Jason and I had lattes after dinner, Alice finally got to try a "fluffy," a cupful of milk foam with cocoa sprinkled on top. She's hoping they'll catch on in the States.
I almost forgot...on the way to dinner we stopped back at Walk-In Wardrobe, a second-hand shop where Alice had earlier tried on a gorgeous leather jacket that she couldn't further. It was still there and she decided to buy it with her own money. It looks amazing on her, fits with room to grow, and was only $40. She is over the moon about it and never wants to take it off.
This morning we decided we needed some downtime, so after breakfast we spent an hour reading and relaxing at the hotel. Eventually we wandered back down to the main shopping streets and found lunch at the Pier Restaurant, where Alice bravely ordered the mussels for the first time on her own.
Nomad Safaris picked us up at 1:30 and our guide, Ilya, took us and another party of three out to see more filming locations from The Lord of the Rings. We drove West along the lake stopping at various lookouts as he told us stories about what was filmed where. We visited the place where Sam stewed the coneys and the armies of Sauron marched through with oliphaunts. We stopped at the field where most of the views of Isengard were filmed. We drove along the Dead Marshes and stopped for tea in Lothlorien and everywhere we went the mountains towered in the background in every side. It was epic!
Back in town I decided that I wanted better Japanese food than we got in Dunedin and online reviews led us to Tanoshi. That was marvelous--fabulously rich miso soup, the best gyoza, and wonderful chicken tempura were the highlights, but everything we had was tasty.
Ferg is a food empire here in Queenstown. The line for Fergburgers snakes down the block at all hours, the one for Mrs Ferg's Bakery is equally long in the morning, and there's also a gelateria--thankfully the line there is much shorter. I had a tiny serving of mascarpone fig almond that was the perfect ending to the day.
Tomorrow we head north again to the west coast. Cross your fingers that the weather is good enough for us to fly up to the glaciers!
no subject
Date: 2018-08-20 03:03 am (UTC)I saw a leather jacket at the Sak's outlet in Assembly Row with Julie last October that looked like Alice to me, but it was way more than $40! Glad the universe put one where she could get it.
no subject
Date: 2018-08-20 02:03 pm (UTC)