I left the lakes and mountains of Wanaka behind this morning to travel to more lakes and mountains in Queenstown... Well I am in the Southern Lakes region after all! I could happily have stayed another week in Wanaka, it has been my favourite place so far I think.
We stopped at Puzzling World on leaving Wanaka, where I managed to wake up a few brains cells and blow away one or two cobwebs... Sort of. We then stopped off at Mrs Jones' fruit store just outside Queenstown, where they have an amazing amount of fresh fruit for sale, straight from the orchards. The climate in the area is great for growing fruit as it is much hotter and drier than the rest of New Zealand, being as far as you can possibly be from the coast (only actually 160km). We had also just passed the 45 degree parallel, to give you some idea of where I am in terms of latitude.
Our final call before Queenstown was the Kawarau Bridge, where they have what was the world's first ever commercial bungy jump. I enjoyed watching others screaming their heads off, from the comfort of the viewing platform. Sorry Tim, not going to happen! I can think of much less frightening things to spend my money on!
We arrived in Queenstown at 1pm. It's a much bigger town than Wanaka, but similarly it's nestled by a beautiful, big lake and surrounded by spectacular mountains. So I know you're dying to know my facts and figures of this lake, Lake Wakatipu: this one is New Zealand's longest at 80 kilometres and third largest at 291 square kilometres.
When I arrived at the hostel - Nomads - I had just opted for the cheapest room, a 10 bed mixed dorm. When I got to the room however, it looked like a bomb had gone off and there was literally no space for me, so I've paid an extra couple of dollars for a female only 4 bed ensuite instead. This is like a palace in hostel terms!
Once the temperature started to drop a little this afternoon, I went for a run as far as my heavy legs from yesterday would take me, along the lakeside track towards Frankton. I stopped every so often to marvel at the view, as usual, and I even sat down on a rock for a bit to have a good gawp today!
The photo is of this evening's beautiful sunset over the lake.