The south island was calling us so it was off to the airport. We said our goodbyes to the sunny and headed in. A giant gollum sculpture (thanks google!) greeted us. New Zealand really loves their LOTR's connection and it is evident everywhere.
We were also greeted by a giant mural which featured this gem.
I think I will pass. We boarded the plan and bid farewell to the san fran of Oceania.
The south island is littered with mountains and with the plan flying rather low for the majority of the trip we had a good view.
The decent into Queenstown was quite horrible for me. The city is nestled in the mountains and the landing is a calculated run between peaks. The turbulence was overwhelming for this squeamish flyer.
Still alive having survived my panic attack I stepped onto the tarmac. I was greeted with some incredible views that calmed my tension a bit.
We headed to omega to fetch our rental car. Meet the Tiida! It is apparently the newer version of the Sunny. Welcome back old friend.
We drove into town and checked into the hostel. This was probably the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in. We had originally booked a room for three because the rooms for two were full. Seeing only two of us at his counter the owner only charged us for a double room. It was one of the many perks they offered. The room was super nice and we had a balcony to ourselves with a great view. So if you are in Queenstown, Adventure Queenstown is the place to stay.
We noticed there were a few Mexican restaurants in town. Morbidly curious we decided to try what southern New Zealand Mexican food tasted like. I got the tacos and Peter got the Burrito. The humorous part about it was the menu explained all of the dishes in detail. Having grown up with so much Mexican influence in our culture it would have never occurred to me to describe on a menu what a taco is.
The results were predictable. The salsa was much like marinara and the meat was bland and chewy. It was a good change from all of the Indian food we have been eating however. They also featured an interesting selection of hot sauces.
How much can you take? After our late lunch we headed back to the hostel and inquired about a good hike in the area. The owner pointed us to one that would wrap up right around sunset. We headed up the mountain.
It was a rather enjoyable trail and there were lots of neat things to see.
The views from the top weren't too shabby either.
The pilots in the area must have really good eyes as to be able to see this from the sky.
As promised the sun set right as we made it down the trail again. With a few hours of hiking under our belt we headed back for the hostels Sunday roast beef dinner. I forgot to take pictures of the event but it was a decent meal at a decent price. We ended up talking to the hostel owner for quite a bit about sports and travel. It was good to learn that not all of the world hates us Americans.
