Queenstown Part 2

So where was I? Right. 

Micah and I spent the morning in Arrowtown and got back to Qtown just in time to start walking to the zip line. The beginning of the zip was on the same hill as the skyline gondola, but rather than pay for another ride, we decided we'd take the scenic route and follow the walking path up the mountain. We knew that it would take about an hour and we had just over an hour before our check in time so we headed down the trail. And by "down the trail" I mean "up the mountain."  The trail itself was not that long, but it was very, very steep. At points the rocks were cut into steps, but some sections were just dirt trails. The trail was not well marked but we managed to stay with it. About 2/3 of the way there we encountered a very icy section, which was difficult to walk up. We did a lot of shuffling and slipping and crawling. It was not fun. We had no alternative though. We could go back the way we came, pay and wait in line for the gondola and be late or keep going. The walk would not have been as bad if the occasional sign also included a distance. We stopped to catch our breath a few times and the ice slowed us down quite a bit so even though we had time to take it a little easier, we had no idea how close we were. Well, we made it, ten minutes early, no less. With that sorry adventure over it was time to have some fun!

We spent three hours making our way down the mountain on six different zip lines. That time includes waiting for the other people in the group to zip and one 20 minute walk between platforms. Let me tell you, going down was exponentially easier than going up. We were wearing full body harnesses and helmets the whole time, so don't worry. I've always enjoyed zip-lining at camp, but I knew it was shorter and closer to the ground than this one so I thought I might be nervous about it, but instead of jumping off the platform, all you had to do was walk down a set of steps connected to the platform and after a certain point the harness would tighten and next thing you know you're flying. The second time, after the guide explained how to, I went upside down! The lines gradually got longer, but all of them were too short! The last line is said to be the steepest tree to tree zip line and even with a brake line slowing you down the whole way, they estimate that you go about 70 km/hour, or about 44 mph! I had SO much fun. According to the website, the same company set up the zip line in Indianapolis for the Super Bowl, so that's cool! It got to be pretty cold so when we were done Micah and I had hot gelato, which is melted gelato with steamed milk and someone needs to make that a thing back home because, as you can imagine, it was delicious. Dinner that night was at Hell's Pizza, a NZ pizza chain that has some very interesting topping combos. I had wrath, which among other things, included venison peperoni, which, like everything else I've told you about, was delectable. 

On Saturday we took a motorcoach to Milford Sound, where we got on a boat, took a two hour cruise, and then got back on the bus to Queenstown. It's a good thing that the landscape between Milford Sound and Queenstown is beautiful because it was about a 4 hour drive. The driver gave some commentary on the way there and told us some of the local history and talked about the wildlife in the area. We saw a few Keas, which are alpine parrots, and on the boat we saw a small colony of fur seals. Milford Sound is not technically a sound and is really a fiord, but I hardly knew the difference. The water was an amazing bluish green and the mountains around it are impossibly steep and covered with bright green flora and around every corner is another gorgeous waterfall. On the way home on the bus we watched The World's Fastest Indian, which is about a NZ man who goes to America to set record speeds on his old Indian motorcycle. It was actually a much better movie than I expected and if you want a small taste of NZ, give it a watch! It stars Anthony Hopkins, and he didn't get the accent right, but that's alright. When we got back we had Indian food, and yep, you guessed, it was delicious. Some of the best naan I've ever had. 

Micah and Ray had an earlier flight than me on Sunday so I was left to amuse myself til about 1 in the afternoon. I wasn't too keen on spending more money and most everything in Qtown is expensive so I decided to head into town and figure something out, when I happened upon a lovely little church. I had timed it rather well and the Sunday service was about to start so I joined in. I've never been to an Anglican church before, and it was much different than I'm used to, but it was a nice service. There were maybe 30 people there total and after the service they insisted I join them for tea and cookies so I chatted with them for a while before heading to the airport. My flight was delayed about an hour, but I got some reading done so it wasn't too bad. 

All in all, a very fun weekend! After traveling on my own and having to be responsible for everything, it was nice to relax and let someone else hold the map.