Today we flew to Queenstown from Melbourne, at only 2.5 hours its actually quicker then getting to work in Central Australia.  The 2am wake up call to get to the airport was rude tho and even ruder is when you get to the International airport and MoVida is closed!!  What is that all about??  For the record MoVida opens at 5am and the book shop opens when the guy can be bothered getting off his mobile and opening the screen… I stared at him for 7 minutes through the door as well, I think this helped as well.

By 9am Melbourne time we were flying over the Mountains that surround Queenstown, snow capped peaks that reach towards the plane and snaking rivers that wind through the gorges, before widening to become shallow shale river beds.

 

 

As we land we fly over Queenstown, house line the shore of Lake Wakatipu.  A mix of new glass and stone mansions mixes with old timber shacks, a theme that continues across the Mountains to Wanaka.

Picking up our hire car we fight through multiple ski and board bags, screaming children and parents who look like they desperately need a decent coffee.

Finally we are off, heading straight for Wanaka and the first five days of our trip to New Zealand.  Driving the scenic route around Arrowtown and over the Crown Range Pass.  Arrowtown is a little old gold mining town, very touristy and packed on a Sunday afternoon.  Shops selling possum fur jumpers and multiple sheep skin products.  Second gripe, I quite like how soft possum fur is but why on earth are all the jumper styles for females sooooooo designed for 80 year old women.  Honest to God, ponchos!!!  I know they are trendy in some circles but I don’t think fine art students can afford possum fur.

So we leave the possum fur ponchos and head over the Crown Ranges Pass, I’m getting hungry by this stage and the road is very curvy.  Lots of bends that would be great on a motorbike, scenery the gets better and better with every bend, the occasional glimpse of snowy white peaks in the distance.

Arriving in Wanaka the sight is stunning, Lake Wanaka lies still and reflective, the Mountains climb behind.

I’m so over stunning scenery after 6 hours in New Zealand, that I just want a glass of wine and a cup of tea.  But my day of exciting new adventures is not over yet.

I duck into the public loo, one of those self cleaning metal cubes that make me slightly nervous that the door is going to open halfway through my business.  I press the open for button and am advised that I have 10 minutes to finish my business before the door opens…. then music starts playing.  No joke, elevator music… I can’t pee, I’ve got stage fright, it is to much the time pressure, the elevator music.  I give up and go any find a cup of tea.