Sunday, April 6, 2008

Queenstown with Gilbert

This first picture, our venison meal from a local brewery was at the end of the day. I'd like to put out a sincere thank you to my fine host! We even got through most of the day without going on about PLCs and SCADA systems! If ever you're in Seoul or America - I'd feel priviledged to show you around.

Today we slept in. Then I woke up confused about the time. It was daylight savings so we set the clock back an hour. That's right - back! It was almost a month ago when the US set their clocks forward. (Mar 9th as opposed to Apr 6th). Well, that had to do with an early full moon, among other things, and New Zealanders also respect the "spring forward, fall back" mnemonic. It's just that fall - autumn - begins in April in the Southern Hemisphere. And in Korea we don't recognize daylight savings.

It was a good day today. Gilbert from the PLCs.net forum drove me around the spots in Queenstown. It's amazing what an "OT: been to New Zealand" post can get you! He first took us to a site overlooking a narrow stream/river where they do Jet Boat rides. I was interested, but Austin had his sights set elsewhere. Those crazy guys come inches from rock walls at high speeds. The impressive units can operate in 4 inches of water.



Next, Gilbert took us up a narrow windy road up a steep hill. It was an amazing view that featured many of the areas where we'd been and were going. Hang gliders were launching from there - made me think of my little bro. Queenstown's the "adventure capital" of, well probably the world. The list goes on and on: Sky diving, bungee jumping/swings, luging, gliders, boats, rides, you name it...



After that we went to Arrowhead. It's an old gold mining town that maintains much of its historic roots. It was a fun place to check out and wander. But we got cut short for our Kawaru bungy reservations.






I'm told this was the first commercial bungy site in the world. It's certainly a great location! I have great pictures to post, the usual tourist trap ones - I should be able to download them tomorrow. That's me - pretty hard to tell, though. I do have a DVD copy of the video.

I opted to get wet. Apparently the farther you jump outward the less wet you'll get. The tune changed for Austin after I stayed dry. He was told that he'd pay for me. I doubt it mattered how he went - they made sure he practically dipped down to his waist.


We made a quick stop at a local winery for a taste test. They get fully booked a week in advance for dinner, but we just caught them before closing. It was the first New Zealand wines I'd had. Very good!

Our last stop was Speight's Ale House for dinner (pictured at the top). Aside from being evacuated due to a fire alarm, all went well!

A few last minute things: 1. Great pictures taken everywhere - will have to see separately 2. Sheep greatly outnumber people here 66 million to 4 million 3. lamb gyros/wraps are awesome!

No comments: