Queenstown

Saturday morning it was off to the farmer's market for some breakfast crepes and farm-fresh berries before loading up the car and heading off to Queenstown. My Kiwi host Crispin drove while David, Victoria and I enjoyed the scenery. The four hour drive through central Cantebury was beautiful with the trees changing color to their fall finery. We stopped in Alexandra for lunch at a cute natural cafe where we had to stop ourselves from buying about five different things each because everything looked so good. The farm stores along the way were all open, selling fresh fruits and regional goods like nuts, honey, and eggs. When we arrived in Queenstown we checked into the Black Sheep, a surprisingly clean and new hostel, where we were staying. Then the boys went off to visit one of Crispin's friends while Victoria and I took a hike up one of the mountains surrounding the lake.

It was perfect hiking weather, too overcast to get sunburnt, just cool enough to keep walking uphill comfortable, and the view from the top was amazing. Lake Wakatipu and the town of Queenstown lining its shores were peaceful, with no movement marring the stillness. The mountains stretched up from the still water, their slopes turned a deep blue from the distance. Goats were grazing the hillside near the trail and a mist was rising from the nearby valley, lending a mythical feel to the landscape.

After meeting up with the boys again we ventured downtown to what David professed was the "best burger place he'd ever been to"- Fergburger. It seemed that other agreed with him because when we arrived the line to order strecthed out the doorway. But we eventually got our burgers and they were worth the wait. My 'Holier than Thou' was possibly the best vege burger I've ever eaten... the tempured tofu with a spicy coconut and coriander sauce and veggies. Yum! After dinner we explored the town for a while playing pool in the upstairs of the Moose Bar where their snowboarding films shown on the wall tvs made me really, really want to go snowboarding. We went to Lick for some ice cream (apple crumble, amazing) and then went to a local party that Crispin's friend invited us to. It was exactly like a house party in the States would be like...except for the accents of course.

Sunday was Anzac Day. But Joes Garage was open for breakfast and it was delicious...I had a plum smoothie for the first time ever, and I would definitely recommend it. Driving back to Dunedin we passed Anzac Day ceremonies in all of the towns we drove through. Whereas the day before the towns had been full of weekend hustle and bustle, there were usually no other cars on the road besides ours and large gatherings of people were having memorial ceremonies in the city centers.

Queenstown was beautiful, with its lakeshore lined with colorful trees and its clean, albeit touristy, city streets. I may have to make a trip up there during ski season to see how it has changed.