Queenstown

Finally time to post about my trip last weekend to Queenstown!  Better late than never, right?  On Friday evening, nine of us set out from Dunedin for a fun weekend in Queenstown.  In 3.5 hours, we arrived, checked into our hostels, and set out to explore town!  Queenstown reminds me a lot of Whistler... its a small town in the mountains made up mostly of tourists and hardcore skiiers/snowboarders here for the season.  Compared to Whistler, there are many more students than families, hostels than fancy hotels, and, from what I can tell, a lot less snow.  But despite the lack of snow, there were a ton of people there last weekend.  Our first night, we explored what the Queenstown nightlife has to offer, from the World Bar (famous for it's teapot shots), to the IceBar, which was -9˚C and served drinks in ice cups, among others.  Late that night we made our first stop of the weekend at the famous Fergburger, which is apparently the best burger in the world.  Even at 4 am it was packed, but it was worth the 30 minute wait.  Charlie and I split a tofu burger, and I swear there's something magic in those burgers...

Beautiful lakefront Queenstown

The next morning we took a walk along the lake front through the farmers market, then sat and had amazing mochas at a cafe (I swear, they put a little magic in everything in Queenstown).  For lunch, we did Fergburger again (and this wasn't the last time this weekend), and Ewout conquered the Big Al.... 1 lb patty, some chicken, some bacon, and a couple of eggs.  It was truly a vegan's nightmare.

 The Big Al....

The most delicious mocha ever

We did the traditionally touristy gondola ride to the top of the hill and two rides each on the luge.  It really is a stunning place - pictures can't do it justice.  I can see why this is a such a popular tourist destination!  After our two races on the luge (which I may or may not have lost...) we spent a while watching paragliders and bungee jumpers.   People really do like their extreme sports here.  That evening we ordered Fergburger for the 3rd time (it really is that good, I promise...), played Settlers of Catan in the hostel, to which all of us are a little bit addicted, then spent a little more time exploring the town at night.

 Our group at the top of the gondola

 The bottom of the luge ride

On Sunday we said farewell to Queenstown around noon and set off the head back to Dunedin... 

But about an hour and a half into the drive, we realized that we had taken a wrong turn and had been driving in the wrong direction for an hour!  However, it turned out to be a good mistake when we stumbled upon Puzzling World, which Steph had been wanting to go to for years.  So we spent a couple of hours in the illusion rooms, wandering through the labyrinth, and playing puzzles in the lobby before turning around and heading back the right direction.  Even though we got back a few hours later than intended, it was well worth it, and it was amazing to get to drive through the New Zealand countryside during daylight.  More sheep and gorgeous mountains than I ever could have dreamed of...

Illusion rooms.  A miniature Charlie and (especially) giant Ewout