Jan 30: Queenstown, Millford Sounds, Adventuresville

Here are some fun facts about Queenstown:

When you're in New Zealand and people ask you if you've gone to Queenstown, they're really asking whether or not you've gone bungie jumping, canyon diving, or flown a jet. Those are just some of your many x-treme entertainment options in Queenstown. 

I asked Matt why any city in the world would be want to be known for hosting the most extreme sports in the world. Aren't the liabilities off the charts, I asked?

"No," Matt said, "Because there are no litigation laws."

This seemed like a dumb answer, because I'm from America, where you can sue people for hurting your feelings. And people have actually passed out and died from some of these activities. Seems like the place is rife withe the possibility of being sued for gross negligence. 

"Not so," said Matt, "no litigation laws." 

He offered more explanation, but I didn't really follow. We opted for the less extreme activities, like luging and jet boating. It seemed smartest to stick to ground-floor activities. 

A Quiet Day In Queenstown:

We were feeling a little subdued after our romp at the Asylum Lodge. There is no way extreme sports can top the friends you make in haunted houses and the dolphins you swim with surfing in secluded beaches. Nonetheless, we seized the day and took a series of gondolas to the top of a very, very steep mountain up to a luge spot. 

Luging is like go-carting but cooler. You sit in a sled with handle bars and break by letting go or pulling back on the handle bars. Because the mountain top is really steep, you've got no trouble getting momentum. We bought three rides and I passed Matt on the third. It was awesome. 

Got done with our business at the top of the mountain and went to the jet boat place. A jet boat is a lot like a roller coaster car on water. It's this massive flat-bottomed boat that can go in water as shallow as 10 cm (like 4 inches.) And the steering is insanely sensitive, so the driver was able to buzz by the sides of these cliffs and do 360-degree turns in the middle of the narrowest cavern I've ever seen. Very, very fun. 

Fjords!:

Yesterday we decided to pile into the car and drive 5 hours to Millford Sounds and back. This is in the Fjordlands, somewhere I really, really wanted to see on this trip but didn't think I would. And it is INCREDIBLY worth it. On the drive there, we saw glaciers, lakes, planes, PAROTS (seriously, there's some kind of rock-parrot that lives in New Zealand that's the southern-most dwelling parrot in the world, and it's a weird, mossy looking little fella about the size of a large rooster), waterfalls, caves, and the Tasman Sea. Matt got us tickets for a ferry/cruise/boat tour of the fjords (which I renamed MillFjiord Sounds...haha, get it?) and we also got a rare glimpse of some of the yellow-eyed penguins. The ferry driver pulled a stunt like our jet-boat driver when he nudged the boat underneath a waterfall. But that was fun also. 

And That Brings Us To Today:

Today we're leaving the Crown Plaza and headed towards the Franz Josef Glaciers, and will hostel-hoping some more. We're probably going to swing by some wineries on our way out, as the Otago region is also Winesville, NZ. 

Much love, and I'll talk to you guys later. Ems.