Queenstown. NZ Feb 4-6,2015

Queenstown, New Zealand Feb 4-6,2015 This town located at the foot of several mountains and on a large lake is the adrenalin capital of a country obsessed with crazy sports. bungee jumping originated here and the guy who invented it, AJ Hackett, is a local. The town is filled with backpackers and sporty typed people who look as healthy as you would imagine. We had a 1 bedroom condo located about 120 feet up a extremely steep hill, think 45 degrees and we walked up it several times. however the views over the town to the mountains and lake were astounding. I could have just sat at the picture window watching the weather change constantly all day. In fact it got downright cold. It literally snowed and the mountain tops turned white. We happened to be here for Waitangi Day. this is equivalent to our 4 th of July for New Zealand and is 175 years since they joined the Commonwealth. to commemorate this special day organizers sponsored a Running of the Wool, as in the olden days. Basically this meant that they blocked off the streets for a few hours and for around 20 minutes sent 500 sheep charging along the route. Think Pamplona but with sheep instead of bulls. was pretty funny as the sheep were leaping in the air as they ran. For our full day we did a loop tour of the valley nearby. this included watching the jet boats run the Shotover River and the buggy jumpers at the gorge. Wee also drove to the top of the nearby ski slope where we got the snow but could see for many many miles through the valleys. Most interesting was a stop in Arrowtown a former gold mining town. Many preserved buildings giving it an old west flavor though they now house ice cream venues and clothing shops selling woolen items. the best area was the preserved Chinese settlement. When gold was discovered in the 1860s many Chinese immigrants from the Canton area made their way here to better their lives. they were discriminated against and given the worst jobs and places to live and most returned home. some stayed though and eventually integrated into the community. the shacks they lived in as well as their store are still existent. Very interesting. Sent from my iPa🐪