After saying goodbye to Mark who I did the Glacier Trek with and a couple of girls on there way to Christchurch I got my Atomic Shuttle bus at 10.30. We stopped at a fly infested cafe for lunch watching the rain come down and after a 6 hour journey with only 3 of us on the bus got to Queenstown. My hostel, Reavers Lodge, was a decent place near town and popular with long staying locals and was fine but the walk from the bus stop up the steepest hill imaginable with my heavy backpack was not the easiest.

I went straight to the Information Centre and booked Jet Boating for the next day and had a beer at the excellent Pig & Whistle which had rugby on tv and a live band. The next day was miserable, it was cold and rainy, my jet boating was off and it was very boring. I went on the internet for a while, had a beer then an early night.

I was glad to get out of Queenstown for a trip to Milford Sound at 8am that day, it was still raining and still cold. I booked with the cheapest company I could find, Eco Tours, who were excellent. We had lots of stops including a small bird sanctuary and Te Anau before we got to Milford at 2.30. The cruise was a couple of hours and great even if a bit chilly, at least it stopped raining for that, great scenery and some seals. After a stop at a pub on the way back I had a drink in town before facing the climb back to my Lodge.

Next day was thankfully dry and sunny, so I quickly rebooked jet boating and after a quick trip to the doctors to sort out a chest infection I went up the Gondala and saw some stunning views on a crystal clear day. Then had five rides on the luge, various mates would probably thrash me in a race but I enjoyed it anyway! For Jet Boating I had a trip up the mountains on a very scary, narrow and bumpy road to Skippers Canyon - brilliant ride for over half an hour was just what it said on the brochure, adrenalin pumping and great fun.

Following morning I booked on the Steamboat ride up the river, great views of the mountains and chatted to some people who also went on my Milford Sound trip. Then a a quick lunch then packed for my flight to Hamilton.