Doubtful Sound Continued 

This includes the pictures of the Seals and the Pod of Bottlenose Porpoises . I just can’t articulate how stunning it is and how wild as you head for the Tasman sea 

Top of the Lake Did you see this creepy drama series a few years past? It started Elizabeth Moss and Holly Hunter and was directed by Jane Campion It was filmed north of Queenstown in an area that used to be called Top of the Lake but now is referred to as Glenorchy. The show was great but the scenery is amazing too  

Queenstown Is this the coolest town in New Zealand ? It’s certainly the most outdoor crazy place I’ve ever been 

Today I took a two mile hike from the top of the mountain overlooking the town. Rode mountain wheel luges and took a jet boat up the Shotover river ..but I’m a whimp compared to others

Here in queenstown you can 

Parasail

Paraglide

Bungee Jump

Bungee Swing 

Mountain bike on over 600 miles of specific trails

Hike on over 2000 miles of trails and byways 

Jetboat

Jet ski

Lake cruise

Swim 

Ski

Snowboard 

Etc etc etc 

There’s a lot to do here ..oh did I mention the great restaurants and shopping and of course those views 

Finally I love that the 150 year old cemetery is adjacent to the mini golf ! 

Oh. So, they have a Gondola in Queenstown! So , of course I was on it first thing this am . Incredible views across Lake Wakatipu and up to Glenorchy which you might recognize from the TV show “Top of the Lake”that was filmed here .

Got to the top for my requisite coffee and muffin and discovered they have wheel luges. 

Wheel luges are sort of like go carts that operate on gravity and tear down a track just like an ice luge. Of course I had to go on that …7 Times ! I got very competitive and had to show the 11 year old driving next to me who was the king of the track… losing is a part of life kid . 

Afterwards I hiked down the hill. Okay I know I’ve told you how steep the hike was down from Christchurch but this was even steeper. I seriously thought I would tumble down the hill. But I made it down unscathed and celebrated with an excellent small rack of lamb and a Pinot! Priceless. Of course there are photos of it all . I love Queenstown! 

No one just rides the bus 🚌 One thing I love here is the way they really push your activity level. If you book a trip on the glacial lake exploration boat you also end up taking a nice mile long walk to get there. If they take you stargazing they walk you through the forest in the night to acclimate you to the darkness. It’s not about getting as many people through the activity but about getting you through it in context. I love it. though I’m not sure the 83 year old woman and her daughter who were the only other people on the glacial lake trip were so crazy about the mile walk each way but hey they made it lol . The grey thing that looks like a dirty wall in the pictures is actually the face of the Tasman Glacier the longest Glacier in NZ. In the past 18 years it’s retreated faster than it has in the last 200 but hey I’m sure Trump is right about global warming. 

The stargazers trip was also incredible . All bundled up they took us out into the middle of nowhere and set up huge telescopes to view the skies. I looked at Saturn and it actually looked like Saturn in a book. All the rings were there lol. We tracked constellations and saw numerous shooting stars . It was an awesome evening in Mt Cook