I arrived in Queenstown just before noon and was immediately impressed. The flight down to Queenstown was pretty amazing too. The scenery from the airplane was great. I could see mountains, rivers, islands, and beaches all from the sky (luckily it was a very clear day). The approach to Queenstown airport was exhilarating! The airport approach is a bit tricky and it involves flying through a series of valleys. As we were coming in, it was apparent that we were steering around hills and mountains because some of the surrounding mountains were definitely higher than we were. The views from the window were great! From the moment we landed, I was impressed. The scenery is absolutely amazing. After a short ride to my hotel, I rushed into my room, threw all of my stuff on the bed and immediately turned around and left to go explore the town. With a map and a lunch tip from the concierge desk, I took off on my way.
Queenstown bills itself as the adventure capital of New Zealand (and perhaps the world). I think it compares best to a ski town in Colorado (such as Breckenridge). However, I believe Queenstown is a bit bigger and it is certainly more diverse in terms of what the town has to offer. Various shops, restaurants, tour companies, and hotels fill the town that is gracefully perched on the banks of Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand. From the looks of it, I will be taking a lot of photos here!
My first stop was Fergburger. On a usual day, this burger joint will turn about $20,000 in business during the 22 hours that they are open (they are only closed from 5am – 7am). I arrived during the lunch hour, so I had to wait about 15 minutes for my burger, which was excellent! I ate my food sitting on a park bench in a grassy area across the street from the restaurant. It was a great place to eat while soaking in the vibe of the town. Much like the small ski towns of Colorado (and places like Boulder), the vibe in Queenstown is all about playing hard and partying hard. People are always out and about enjoying the outdoors and/or the town itself. I saw countless street performers adding to the overall environment of the area. I needed to pick up some sunscreen and bug repellent, so I found a shop and was able to quickly get that taken care of. I didn't read the bug repellent tube when I picked it up, but it turns out that it was something like 80% DEET. The warning labels on the back included one that said to keep it away from plastic parts because it might melt them. Apparently there are some really big bugs in New Zealand (or I just bought way more powerful bug repellent than I need). In any case, I think it is safe to say that I won't have bug problems here!
After exploring the town, I decided to take a hike and try to get some elevation to see the town and the lake (with surrounding mountains) from higher up. I made my way up hill and found the climb to be quite grueling. The streets were extremely steep, but I eventually made it to the start of the Queenstown Hill walk (in New Zealand, a ‘walk’ is what we would refer to as a hike). This trail wound its way through a really cool forest. After some absolutely breathtaking scenery, I came to the lookout point. This outcropping of rock overlooks the airport. The view was absolutely spectacular and I spent a good amount of time just sitting on a rock to absorb the scenery and the majesty of this place. After a while, another guy came along and talked a bit about the view. 
He commented on flying in the previous day and I made a comment about wishing I could have seen the landing from the cockpit. Then he said that this airport was the most challenging approach he had ever flown (so, I’m thinking he flew a little plane in). Turns out that he flies the Boeing 737-800… We probably spent about 30 minutes just talking about flying. He took me through the entire approach (as we could see all of the turn points from the lookout vantage point) even down to the speeds and altitudes. I was correct in that the plane had to first fly over the airstrip in order to then turn back around (using a hill as a pivot point) in order to line up along the narrow valley that led to the runway. What are the chances that I would run into someone like that – right there! I can’t think that there are more than 15 people (if that) in this town right now that have ever flown that approach in a 737… After our great discussion about flying, I made my way back down to the hotel. I didn’t actually finish the trail, but I was out of water and I wanted to get back into town to see more sights! I spent the early evening walking around looking in shops and stores and simply absorbing the atmosphere. I went down to the beach with every intention of going swimming. However, I didn’t realize that the water that fills the lake comes straight from a glacier. It was unbelievably cold! There were still probably 50+ kids and adults swimming and playing in the water like it was nice and warm. I couldn’t bring myself to get any further than knee deep…
I had a very nice dinner at a highly regarded restaurant. The Boardwalk restaurant overlooks the lake from a wharf at one end of the town. I had their monkfish special and it was excellent! After dinner, I walked around while the sun was setting and then worked on some school work before calling it a night!
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