At last, it was our three-day weekend off. There was one destination that appealed to us, and our adrenal glands: Queenstown. Nestled in Southwest New Zealand, the small town hosts a variety of activities that would open our eyes and amp up our courage. For the first day, we traveled early in the morning from Christchurch to Queenstown by air. The landing was one of the most interesting landings I've ever had, where the plane flew over the mountains and landed rapidly onto a very bumpy landing strip. We had our first interesting sight right after we landed.
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| Interesting plane decorations in Queenstown airport |
On the first day, we split up into several groups to pursue our interests. Matt, Emily, and I went skiing for a half day at Coronet Peak. Matt was an experienced snowboarder, but Emily and I were two novices when it came to skiing. While Emily adjusted quickly, I had my hands full for the day, where I had 34 falls learning how to ski on the bunny slopes. Jane, Ally, Kinsley, and Katie went horseback riding in the beautiful country around Queenstown. The remainder of our group, Scott, Max, and Alexis, went to visit the amazing sites used to film various segments of
The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
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| Emily and Matt at Coronet Peak |
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| Alexis, Max, and Scott en route to the set of LOTR |
Despite a few mishaps, it was a great day. At night, we had dinner in the city that also opened our eyes as well as our pockets. Our stay at the Black Sheep Backpackers was also an interesting one. While others probably had pretty nice rest, the five of us (Alexis, Max, Matt, Scott, and I) definitely had a loud night with a sick roommate. Nevertheless, we were off to another day of adventure the next day. Five of us ( Alexis, Max, Emily, Katie, and I) journeyed to Milford Sound in the Fiordland National Park. Scott and Matt took on skiing at the Remarkables, and Ally, Jane, and Kinsley took to shopping in Queenstown.
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| At the peak of the Remarkables |
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| Commercial district of Queenstown |
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| Milford Sound |
On our last day, we took to packing and shopping around Queenstown. While several of us have already tried the famous Ferg burgers, it was my first attempt. Matt and I finished these big burgers with some difficulty.
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| Eating big burgers |
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| Snowy Queenstown |
Unfortunately, we did not make it out of Queenstown. The flights were canceled due to weather. Nonetheless, our airline gave us very nice accommodations and a long coach ride back to Christchurch.
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| Delayed at the airport |
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| Passing through New Zealand - coach ride |
We passed through the Mt. Cook area on our way back to Christchurch, and it gave us a little preview to our next trip to hike the mountains and Lake Tekapo. This concludes our time in Queenstown.
Reporting from the snowy south
Peter Zhang
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