Last week, Andy (my brother) finished up his 11 day hiking trip in Queenstown on Thursday night. So, Craig and I drove out there Friday, leaving right from work and arriving at 8.30pm. We checked in to our campsite quickly and then ran down the hill to Andy’s hotel because we had reservations at Minus 5. Minus 5 is a small bar made completely of ice on the inside. The seating (benches), bar, and even the glasses are all ice. There were lots of ice sculptures too. We were given nice, heavy, furry hood coats and gloves to go in. Not surprisingly, it was cold! So, we had some yummy, fruity vodka drinks inside, took some pics, and then headed back outside to warm up.


Katie, Andy, and Craig at Minus 5

By this time, it was about 9.30pm but still in the 70’s outside. We ran into 4 guys from Andy’s tour and had a drink with them on an upstairs bar’s balcony. By this time, we were starting to get a little tired so we got some pizza and headed back to Andy’s fancy hotel to hang out on the balcony and enjoy the warm evening temps. Then Craig and I walked back to our campsite and crawled into our tent for some sleep.
Next morning, we met Andy at his hotel again and walked through the artisan’s market down by the wharf. He had reservations to go hang gliding at 3pm so we decided to go for a hike first. We hiked up one mile track which ended up being pretty cool, with nice views of waterfalls and a creek.


Waterfall on One Mile Track

After the hike, Craig and I left Andy to his hang gliding adventure and went mountain biking. The trail started off as a fairly flat double track along the lakeshore. As we went further and further, the trail became increasingly technical. Single track through the woods with lots of little hills, rocks, and tree roots. It ended up being an awesome track and before we knew it, we had been riding for about and hour and a half. We really wanted to keep going but knew we had to turn around and head back for dinner. By the time we got back to the car, we were both pretty dirty and tired, and knew we had earned the buffet dinner awaiting us that night!
Back at the campsite, we found Andy relaxing under a tree. When asked how the hang gliding was, we found out in had been cancelled when they got to the top of the mountain due to turbulent, chaotic winds. Bummer! But it was rescheduled for another try in the morning. So, we showered quickly (8 minutes to be exact, that’s what you get for $1) and walked up to the gondola, which we boarded and rode to the top of the mountain for dinner. The gondola ride was pretty crazy. It goes almost straight up the rock cliffs. Definitely not ski-able terrain below so it was very different than the lift rides we’re used to!
At the top, we hopped off the gondola at the Skyline Restaurant, where we had reservations for dinner. We were fairly early so we hiked up a little hill to check out the luge rides. Finally, it was time to eat and we were led to a table near huge windows overlooking Queenstown. We didn’t spend too much time admiring the view though, as the buffet was calling!


Craig and Katie at dinner


View from Skyline Restaurant

There was a ton of food to choose from including soups, salads of every type, cheese and crackers, meat (chicken, pork, venison, lamb), sides (veggies, eggplant, kumara and parsnip mash, veggie fried noodles), seafood (clams, salmon, scallops, shrimp), and pasta (ziti, cannelloni, ravioli), and desserts of every imagineable kind. There was definitely a ton of food, and I think Craig was full for the first time since we’ve been in NZ. This after at least 10 plates of food. We ate for about 2 hours and then wobbled back to the gondola for a ride down in the dark. We then wasted no time and rolled right into our tents.
In the morning, Andy got up and left for another attempt at flying and Craig and I slept in. We eventually got up to sunny, hot skies, and packed up tents and camping gear. With some time to kill before meeting back up with Andy, we walked through the gardens and enjoyed the sights and views. The temps were in the 80’s so we tried to stay in the shade and keep cool. At noon, we headed over to our rendez-vous point and found Andy, again denied from hang gliding. This time too much wind! But he and 2 other guys from his trip had gone jet boating in Shotover Canyon instead and had a great time. So, at least he got a little adventure after all that.
The rest of the day was spent driving, first over the Crown Range to Wanaka for some scenery, and then back to Dunedin. We arrived home Sunday night around 8pm, unpacked ate some dinner, and went to bed.
Monday was Superbowl Sunday at home and we had planned to leave work at lunchtime to watch the game. We walked across the street to a pub called The Bog where the game was just about to begin. We were the only ones in there watching for the first half but about 10 others popped in for the second half. Craig and I were definitely the only Steelers fans there and we were rewarded with a great game and a Pittsburgh win, along with some record-breaking plays. Go Steelers!!!!!!
The game was over by about 4.30 here so we decided to drive up to Moeraki Boulders and the lighthouse to give Andy a taste of NZ east coast. We saw tons of seals and penguins, and even a very rare sea lion that growled loudly at Craig when he got too close.


Andy and Katie at the Lighthouse

Lots O' Pics

It was a fun weekend and great start to the week. We are leaving to kayak Doubtful Sound and check out the Fiordlands on Thursday so it will be another busy weekend!