NZ adventures: Queenstown and Milford Sound

Lectures have ended and exams have not started for me so it meant time to travel. I went with Jess, Leah, and Alex back up to Queenstown. We went Fergburger which is a famous restaurant in Queenstown. The first day we were there Alex, Jess, and I went on the Shotover jet. This is a hover boat that takes you in the canyon and does 360's and goes fast. We liked it so much that we went on it twice that morning. We were also the ones not really dressed for the windchill. They gave us raincoats to wear and it was sunny out so when we stopped we were fine. As we got on the boat for the second time Alex and I were talking with two guys, one from Toronto and the other from England. The guy from Toronto asked where I was from and I said Oregon. He said that Portland is on his list of places to travel because of the good beer. I was a bit excited that someone knew were Oregon is.

That afternoon we went horseback riding. The stable was about 45 min. from Queenstown and we went riding in a place called Paradise about 10 min from the stable. This is where parts of Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Wolverine, and Prince Caspian were filmed. The horse I rode was used in Prince Caspian. We walked through some of the filming locations and the guides pointed some stuff out because a lot of cgi was used. I can write lots about what I saw here but I won't. I think the most interesting thing is that Paradise is owned by a trust that has agreed nothing will be built there for 99 years so around 2100. And when Peter Jackson was filming he made sure there was no trace that he was there. They look pictures before and if plants had to be removed they were kept alive in a greenhouse and then replanted when filming finished.

We walked around town and went to Cookie Time. This is a store that just sells cookies. We both got ice cream sandwiches made with 2 fresh cookies. They were so good but really messy. Warm cookies make the ice cream melt faster and I already eat ice cream really slow.

The next day Alex and I went to Milford Sound. The bus broke 20 min. into the trip so we got to ride a different one to Te Anau when the bus driver got a different bus. We drove through the national park and had a few stops at some of the more exciting creeks. To get to the national park you have to drive along a road that is one of the most dangerous. There is a high chance of avalanches. There is a tunnel that takes you through the mountains. It was made by hand a long time ago. It's a one lane tunnel so every 15 min. a set of cars is allowed through. We made it to the Sound and got on the boat. We say dolphins, seals, and a penguin. We also went under a few waterfalls. The entire drive to and from the Sound and most of the time on the boat it was pouring rain. It made for some really cool temporary waterfalls. There is no top soil so water just runs of the rocks. There was also some high wind so some of the tall waterfalls disappeared. After the boat ride we had to get out of there ASAP because they were shutting down the road that connected the sound to the rest of the country.

The next day I headed up to Christchurch. It rained almost the entire time. There were also some thunderstorms. There was so much rain that the road to the sound was not open. Alex and I chose a good day to go. Rain & waterfalls but not too stormy.

Picture Time!!!