SATURDAY – JANUARY 11, 2014
BOTTOM LINE:
Drove from Wanaka to
Queenstown
BACK STORY:
This morning we took
off and made it about a mile down the road and found ourselves at Puzzle
World. Now what the heck did we want to
stop at Puzzle World for? We didn’t know
that this was part of the program. We
were told that our tour bus needed to chill for about two hours while we waited
for a few people to complete an outing.
A woman came to our bus
with a proposal of a modest entry fee to enjoy the world of illusions,
including a big maze. We decided to
entertain ourselves and go in.
The maze was
“a-mazing!” It actually entertained us
for about 30 minutes until we became frustrated in finding a fourth and final
mystery tower. We cheated and exited out
a camouflaged gate.
We then found ourselves
in the hall of illusions. Puzzle World
was much like an updated version of Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. There was a room where we appeared to shrink,
a wall of words hidden within words (ambigrams), holograms, and a seat that
appeared to slide down an uphill! We ended in a room that had tables of puzzles
that really tested coordination and memory.
All in all, it turned out to be a fun stop.
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| illusion of standing on a slanted floor |
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| Ambigram |
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| "oh, nuts!" or "a three ring circus" |
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| A little leg support |
The terrain had
dramatically changed to dry and rocky farmland.
It looked and reminded us very much of western Washington. Orchards with stone fruit dotted the
landscape, which seemed to be defined by a twisty aqua colored river.
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| Vineyards along river |
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| Kawarau Gorge |
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| Winery |
We made a pit stop near Cromwell at a fruit stand where people could stretch their legs and get any produce they might wish. It was similar to ones in the US with both fresh and dried fruits. I spotted both black and red grapes from CALIFORNIA and gold kiwi fruit. We sampled the kiwi and found it to be much sweeter than the green kiwi. I inquired about the grape samples that the woman was offering. She was defiant that they were grown in New Zealand. I simply said that perhaps I misread the bags in the nest isle that were labeled “grown in California.” She wasn’t pleased with me!
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| Imported California grapes |
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| Golden Kiwifruit |
A few miles down the road along Lake Dunstan the bus driver abruptly pulled over at a sign that read, “the 45th parallel!” We were half way between the equator and SOUTH pole! The northern hemisphere sign on the Pacific coast is around Salem, Oregon I believe.
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| half way between the equator and south pole |
Our next point of
interest on our drive to Queenstown was Nevis Bungy jumping. The sight is where
bungy jumping originated in New Zealand.
A suspension bridge built in 1880 and used by Gold Miners to cross the
deep Kawarua gorge and river was the sight. The gorge is rugged and rocky.
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| Original Bungy Jump |
Many of the younger people on the bus had signed up to take the leap. The rest of the travelers including us had some lunch and waited around while the thrill seekers did their thing. It was quite something to watch the process…including those that chickened out at the last minute!
We arrived in
Queenstown about 4pm. Queenstown is the adrenalin
capital of New Zealand…and was packed with thrill seekers. The weather was sunny, clear and breezy. Café’s and pubs lined the lakeside waterfront
and an art show added to the buzz.
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| Queenstown waterfront |
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| Queenstown arrival |
After checking into the Nomad Backpackers hostel we headed down to enjoy the rest of the day. We wondered through the compact town and could see that it was a booming tourist destination. Sports shops selling hiking, camping, and water equipment seemed to be on each street.
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| Queenstown from lake |
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| Queenstown at foot of mountains |
At one point we took a
seat at an Irish Pub (in honor of Les and Lawrence being there!) and shared a
hard apple cider…we’re enjoying it better than the beer! As we were sitting there a man was playing
classical music on an electrical guitar along the sea wall. When he took a break to “tune” the instrument
I walked over, curious about his story.
When I inquired he shared that he was from Japan, but had lived in the
town for 23 years. He loves music and
when the weather is nice, he sets up his chair and plays it for donations. He said that he works at a hotel. I asked if he owed the hotel and he smiled
and said, “no.” I asked if he played
guitar at the hotel and he said that he would not be allowed to play at the
hotel so he played outside.
There was something sad
about his situation. He was flawless and
the pieces that he played were beautiful and seemed to echo off the water for
everyone to enjoy. I complimented him,
made a donation and sat down to enjoy his hobby.
Following a light
dinner we headed back to our room. We shared
a dorm room with a nice family from Brazil for one night. It turned out to be a late evening of
visiting and sharing stories.
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