Queenstown Adventures

day 5 : 16th Oct 2011

The main attraction in Queenstown was probably the Shotover Jet. Heck, the street across our motel was even called Shotover Street.

I can't describe in words about the thrill of this ride but this video will!




The "Sua-Ku" caught in the Shotover Jet.

Personally, I felt the ride was a tad too slow. I really wished it could go faster and do more 360 spins until I get dizzy. Maybe I got too used to the speed of a roller coaster. Still, it's worth an experience in Queenstown:)

After the ride, Rhys drove us to the neighbouring Arrowtown. Halfway through the journey, we drove back to Queenstown. Nope, someone did not left his brains back in the Shotover Jet. The sun was shining brilliantly and the sky was clear. With NZ's moody weather, this was an opportunity not to be missed to catch the gondola up to the Skyline.

So, up we go!

What a cool bungee jumping site

There was plenty of food at the Skyline Cafe.

However, we decided to have the buffet lunch at the Skyline restaurant.

This was the view through the restaurant's glass window. We were glad we made the right choice to come up to the Skyline today. As we dined, parachuters and helicopter flew passed us with The Remarkables creating a stunning backdrop (The Remarkables is the snow capped mountain range). Below, a steamship was busy ferrying passengers across Lake Wakatipu.


I am not sure why all the pictures we took are dessert. They definitely served more than just dessert.

My favourite was the Hokey Pokey.

The Kiwi Pavlova that simply melts in your mouth.

Assorted jellies and cream brulee

We saw the Skyline Luge from our restaurant. I didn't put much expectation on this one as I saw some kids and adults luging slowly along the track...zzz

We took the chairlift up to the Skyline Luge's base.

Up here, the track looks more appealing!

First timers had to do a Scenic Track with the luge before doing the Advanced Track.

Quite unexpectedly, we were thrilled as the Luge succumbed to gravity and we were "free falling" 800 metres down. Our motivation increased as little kids swerved past us. Gotta catch those rascals! Before we knew it, we were at the finishing line. The Advanced Track was even more interesting as we raced each other and got ourselves into unexpected dips and sharp bends. The dips made the luge went even faster.

I want to do it again and again and again :)

One for the Luge!

After leaving the Skyline, we decided to spend the rest of our day exploring Queenstown.


TH : Hey look! There's a Bead Shop
QQ (30 secs later) : Hey look! There's a Bead Shop
Jason (1 min later) : Hey look! There's a Bead Shop

The Bead Shop was just opposite our motel. We kept having repeated mindless conversation over The Bead Shop as it was always in our face. So, we had to check it out.


We continued to admire spring time in Queenstown. Trees started to flower bringing colour into Queenstown.














The shop gave us free tasting of the yummy fudge which lured Jessica to get them home. I got some apple and melon drops with some ginger to help us combat motion sickness (okok...I got coz I actually can't resist the cute box). As I was writing this, I looked over at the candies still sitting on my table untouched. Even the ants stayed away from it (honest!)

Our stroll led us to Queenstown's pier.

It was a great place to hang out and we fed the birds. They were a pretty noisy bunch and sounded just like the Angry Birds. Dogs and their owners were seen strolling in the park. The bars started to fill up with enthusiastic guests watching a replay of previous rugby games.

Tonight, New Zealand will play against Australia in the Semi Finals of the World Rugby Championship. Rugby is big, i mean BIG in NZ. It is even bigger for NZ to play against her neighbour. Based on the performance, I thought Australia and NZ should end up head to head in the finals. But not this year. All Blacks are about to face the Wallabies in just a few minutes.



After having Thai food at the same shop again, we headed back to our motel. Jason & Michelle were already in their all black shirt watching the game.


Jess, TH & I thought it was still too early to be back in the motel. After dropping our stuff, we walked to the supermarket that opens until midnight. Along the way, we saw people glued to their TV watching the game.

Halfway through, I wondered if the mart is open. I am sure the workers there would not want to miss this important game.

As we arrived in the mart, I realized there's nothing to worry about. First, the mart is open. Second, there was a large LCD screen above the cashiers and in every aisle in the mart there was a LCD set. All of them airing the game!



The usually quiet nights in Queenstown were occassionally broken by cheers from the All Blacks' fans as All Blacks defeated Australia 20-6.

Since then, All Blacks came out as the champion in the 2011 World Rugby Championship. Edging out France over a tight 8-7 win. Cheers to the All Blacks!