Day 133-136: Queenstown 0 Days

Tuesday, April 11

As soon as I woke up, I called the bank. By the time I got the messages yesterday it was after business hours in the US. It seemed like I was going to be on hold awhile, so I walked to town and got coffee while I waited to talk to someone.

Once I finished talking with the bank, I went to Four Square to get food for the next few days in town and went back to the hostel. I finished reading Reggie Love's book and went to see Beauty and the Beast. Then I made dinner and read another book before going to bed.

Wednesday, April 12

After waking up and making breakfast, I spent the morning on the phone with the bank. Then I went to the kitchen to make a snack and saw Jeremy there. After talking with the bank I needed to get some paperwork filled out. The hostel kindly printed it off for me and I got it filled out and sent to the bank.

By then I was hungry for lunch, so I told Jeremy I was going to Fergburger and he walked to town with me. The line was much longer than either of us wanted to wait in, so we got meat pies next door.

After that I wandered around Queenstown for a bit. I walked around the gardens and it started to drizzle so I went back to the hostel. It stayed rainy most of the day so I read and watched the West Wing.

Fergburger was still on my list of foods to try, so I went around 8, hoping I'd get there between the dinner crowd and the drunk crowd. It worked. I barely had to wait before ordering. As I was walking back to the hostel with my burger (it was a little too crowded in Fergburger for my liking), I spotted Jeremy in a restaurant and said hello. We ate our dinners at the hostel.

Puff Puff / Alex, my friend from the river trip who has finished the TA already, is coming to Queenstown tomorrow. And Jen and Alex will probably be getting to town too.

I watched some West Wong and went to bed.

Thursday, April 13

I woke up this morning and went through the TA trail notes and maps to make sure my plan to Bluff would work out. Then I found out Jen and Alex had made it to Queenstown so I went to meet them.

Alex had to take care of replacing a piece of gear, so Jen and I went to get a Fergburger. It was before 11, so there wasn't much of a line. Once Alex was done, she and Jen had errands to run so I went back to the YHA. I needed to sort my stuff to see what I needed to get out of my bounce box.

As I was walking to the post office, I said goodbye to Jen and Alex. They were leaving with Jeremy today to continue the trail. Jeremy wanted to hook the Rothburn Track to the trail, but I wasn't sure what they were going to end up doing.

I finished making my way to the post office. Tomorrow was Good Friday so I needed to get my bounce box opened and mailed today. As I was at the Post Office, Alex (Puff Puff) let me know she made it to town, so I went back to the hostel to meet her as soon as I mailed my bounce box.

Alex wanted some non-trail clothes now that she was done hiking, so we went to a Salvation Army. The had lots of great stuff! I probably would have gotten something if I wouldn't have had to carry it on my back. Alex got a great sweater.

On our way out of the store, Alex pointed out the Fresh Choice. It was a grocery store much larger (and probably cheaper) than the Four Square in the touristy area of Queenstown.

On our way back to the hostel we ran into Colin and Sandy. It was really nice to meet them. They were the French Canadians that Alex had hiked most of the South Island and a lot of the TA with.

After checking in, we met Sandy and Colin at Red Brick, a bar and restaurant in town, along with their friend Matt. He was from the UK and they had met him in Methven. We all ate dinner and then eventually played Mario 64 on a Nintendo there.

When everyone was tired, we all went our separate ways. Alex and I went back to the hostel. She had laundry and other things to take care of now that she was finished with the TA, so I went to bed watching West Wing.

Friday, April 14

I woke up pretty early. Someone in the room was snoring really loud and someone else turned the lights on really early to get ready. Since I was still half asleep, but too awake to go back to bed, I watch an episode of the West Wing. When Puff Puff messaged me she was up, we made breakfast and she gave me lots of tips for the rest of the trail. I made sure to write them down in my notes for the upcoming days.

Then she had to start trying to hitch to Methven. We said goodbye and I went through my plans for the rest of the trip. I packed up as much as I could and walked to the Fresh Choice to resupply. I packed my food for the next section and made something to eat.

Before it got too late I went to Balls and Bangels to get a Freak Shake and one of their crazy extravagant donuts. Puff Puff had told me about the place. Some of the donuts came with syringes of filling! The milkshake was crazy. It was topped with a brownie, sugar cone, marshmallows and whipped cream. It was hard to finish. A lady walking by saw me through the window and gave me a thumbs up.

There was an artisan and crafts sale in town, so I checked it out as I walked back to the hostel, donut to go since I was so full of milkshake. I didn't get anything, but it's always fun to see what people make.

After getting ready for bed and watching some West Wing, I realized the snorer was still in the room. Oh well. I'd be back on the trail tomorrow.

Overall, I think I planned this trip pretty well. But of everything, I would have spent less days in Queenstown. It was so touristy and most of the activities in town were really pricey (and silly touristy activities). I loved every day I spent in Wellington and Auckland, but there hasn't been much in the last few towns, like Lake Wanaka and Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo was the best of the three because it had great hot springs and stars (and Sam and Lauren were there to hang out with).