Sunday, March 8, 2009

Fit for a Queen ...


It’s that kind of town. One surrounded by The Remarkables. Thought worthy of Queen Victoria; it’s Queenstown. Sitting on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, it’s among the most scenic settings in the world. 
Founded during New Zealand’s 1860’s gold rushes, Queenstown has all the charms of a quaint village and all the trappings of tourism. This is the outdoor Mecca of New Zealand. I rode the Skyline Gondola, which rises about 1,500 feet above town. They have bungee jumping, paragliding and downhill luge running all at the top. I tried the luge and it was great fun.
Down below, there’s white-water rafting and jet-boating in addition to nature walks, Kiwi and birdlife parks, and of course skiing in winter. You can sail on the New Zealand, the boat that took America’s Cup from, uh ... America, or the Lady of the Lake – the TSS Earnslaw.
With temperatures in the fifties I choose the Earnslaw, a 1912 coal-fired relic of the mining era when steamers plied Lake Wakatipu. It now runs folks back and forth across the lake, and the ride is pretty cool. The engine room is open for viewing both from below and above. It reminded me of Steve McQueen’s ship in The Sand Pebbles.
I finished out my Queenstown visit with a walkabout Queenstown Gardens. What a treat. The gardens were full of flowers and fountains and memorials to mountain climbers, Antarctic explorers, war heroes and of course outdoor activities. There was lawn bowling and tennis, but the Frisbee golf course was getting the most use.
Tomorrow, I start a run up the South Island’s west coast. I swapped out my rental car this morning. The old one had a squeak in the windshield wipers that was driving me batty. My new car is the same rust and dent model as the last. But this one has a CD player. Score!

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