My addiction to Queenstown!

Okay so I'm still in Queenstown, and will be for quite a while, if nothing else just to recover from the skydive! I've woken up and everything hurts, including my neck! Luckily I am able to reschedule the Canyon Swing - the worlds highest cliff jump to another day,I think that may well have finished me off having to do that the next day. So slightly relieved I haven't got to hurl myself off something else very high quite so soon I spend the day chilling, and finally managed a successful skype with mum and dad whilst doing my best impression of someone working in a call centre whilst sitting in nomads reception with an attractive headset on! A good look for me! The. It was time for yet another night out in queenstown, today we are celebrating Katie's 18th birthday - this made me feel very very old........again! So we started in the Find, the place where you get cocktails served in teapots and yes the doorman yet again signalled he didn't need to see my ID, his words, yes I can see you're old enough! Cheers I thought. So we make out way into the madness that is the Find, great music and a scrum at the bar to get served, bit like a night out in Essex really. We then ended up in a bar called Buffalo, more free shots and then a fight to get to the dance floor, it was absolutely mobbed, having been soaked in other peoples drink and then hassled by some random who barely knew his own name, it was time to retire at 2am for a fergpie and then back to the hostel for some shut eye.

Today is hostel move day, so just as I was about to get in the shower the fire alarm goes off, so rapidly clothes go back on, although once outside I realised I'd forgotten to put my shorts on over my leggings which wouldn't have been a problem had my leggings not been as see through as they are! Although this wasn't so bad, some poor bloke had evacuated in boxer shorts and towel only - he was in the shower went it went off. Not all bad though, a nice view of 3 firetrucks full of some pretty fit kiwi firefighters as they investigated and discovered that there was indeed no fire in nomads, the shop next door alarm had gone off. So after the drama we eventually checked out, and then Eva and I make our way to the next hostel which is not nearly as nice as nomads and freezing and as I was to discover my next set of room mates for the 3 nights were a complete pain in the backside and just down right bloody rude! Hostel rant on route...........

Yep, worst night sleep ever.......so Eva and me and my massive bags under my eyes set off in search of coffee and cake. Soon after I trekked off to the gondola station to go up the mountain to admire queenstown from above. The views were yet again spectacular. The gondola took me through pine trees which had the sun shining through - lovely. I then did a bit of shopping, slightly unplanned, but it had got colder and I needed more jumpers and a new dress and new going out top and..and .....yeah, probably should have stepped away from the shops a bit sooner, but it was all in the sale...... kinda. Eva and I decided to take a break from cooking in the hostel, I use the term cooking loosely, it usually consists on me pouring water into cous cous or cuppa soup or putting the toast in the toaster. Eva pointed out on numerous occasions that I shouldn't really refer to that as cooking.....Fair point, doubt I will remember how to cook by the time I come back! So off to get our cheap hostel deal pizza in Winnie's....and very nice it was too. Tummies full of pizza and garlic bread, quick walk round the lake and back to the hostel.

Today we have a lazy morning and then head to the ice bar, because clearly it's not cold enough in queenstown for us and we should make sure we can be as cold as possible. Cue standing in a block of ice at the temp of -8.6 for 20mins, drinking out of ice glasses, the vodka was very nice though and a touch warming. But there was some girl in shorts of goodness sake. After losing feeling in fingers and toes we set off in search of a warm pub and hot chocolate. Today was Eva's last day, so in true travelling style, this requires leaving drinks. This started off very civilised, nice couple of beers and wine in a not too crowded bar, with seats and a table would you believe. Then we bumped into the boys and off to cowboys we went. Yet again the doorman signalled no ID needed from you love - great! So Cowboys, as the name would suggest is a cowboy themed bar, complete with bucking bronco, saddle bar stools and more cowboy hats than you can shake a stick at and really cheesy music, which I secretly quite liked. So the most cost effective way to drink in cowboys is to get their 10dollar beer, which is a litre of beer, which is very heavy, so to make it lighter you end up drinking fairly quickly......you can see where this is going.......and yes yet another fergpie on the way home...... Cue hangover for tomorrow...again!

I wake up this morning to some very excited texts from Eva informing me of every goal Germany had scored against Brazil, so basically my phone hadn't stopped pinging at me. Having waved Eva off I thought I should probably go and watch the rest of the game. Then it was time to start planning the US leg of the trip, so looks like South America might be on the cards now, which I'm very very excited about if I can sort it out. Obviously too much use of my brain again in too many days (let's face it it's not really used to doing much at the mo) another bloody migraine, so off to bed at 4pm and wake up at 9am, obviously a touch tired.

So activity day today, enough sitting round the hostel planning and procrastinating over what's next, it's time to climb another mountain! I opt for Queenstown Hill, now why they call it a hill I do not know when it is certainly more than that. I think they are trying to lure you into a false sense of security that it's not that up hill - well let me just say it's very very much up hill, even the street to get to the walking track is ridiculous. iPod in, sunnys on and far too many layers on I start my ascent. Winding tracks through thick pine trees, the smell of Christmas all around, absolutely loved it. I reached a lookout that I think looked out over the Remarkables, but even if it wasn't them whichever mountains they were, they we're stunning, snow capped with sun rays showering down upon them. I then join the time walk track to get to the summit, the view providing that of queenstown, the lake and the surrounding mountains. This is why I have fallen in love with queenstown, not just because of the Fergburgers (although that has helped somewhat) and ridiculously scary stuff you can do here for apparently......fun! Having done all this exercise today it was right we went a for a beer, it was stefs last night, so customary leaving drinks. This is the really rough thing about the bus crew, we have all become so close, the kiwi family it's been dubbed, and it's really crap when we all go our separate ways, the goodbyes have just been horrible.

It's raining again, so time for my favourite task......washing, 3hrs later, time for more sitting in the hostel......so at 10pm we set out for yet another fellow bus bods last night in queenstown and the only other fellow 30 something passenger on the kiwi bus, matt. So with that we start in the new local, Cowboys, 1 cost effective litre of beer later it's time to move to Harry's, the pool bar, which I later discovered also had a dartboard. A few games of pool later, my usual pool playing skills were evident, a smattering of moments of pure brilliance then mostly marred with moments of absolute appallingness. It didn't get much better at the dartboard, trying all my Phil The Power Taylor throws I still failed to win. Then it all went a bit wrong, some bright spark mentioned the dreaded S word..... Shots. The favoured shot by most of the group being tequila which bought back horrible memories of a night out in Billericay whilst at uni, still to this day the thought of that drink makes me feel ill. So black sambuca for me. Watching the boys and their tequilas provided quite a lot of entertainment....perhaps not for them though. Nicely warmed from our shots, we were off in search of a new drinking establishment at 2am! So where do we end up, Cowboys again and rocked the dance floor until 4am.

Another day another goodbye, suppose it's just all part of backpacking. Eventually I surface from bed at 1pm still feeling a touch fragile, it's time for coffee and a brisk walk round part of the lake, the whole of the lake might have been a bit ambitious as it 47km. After this it was food then bed.....a big day tomorrow!

It has arrived, the day of the Canyon Swing - the worlds highest cliff jump. I am beginning to wish I hadn't gone in for this competition, but hey ho there is no backing out now. Luckily for me Ozzy and Dan are kindly coming with me, to a) the offer support and b) to push me off if I try to bottle it. We get to the shop, they draw silly pictures on my hands, then weigh me, presumably to make sure there's enough strength in the wire, really wishing I hadn't eaten so many pies this week! Then we are on route to the canyon ( even that sounds scary) by this point my stomach is all butterflies! We reach the jump site, and first impressions is it's not as high as i thought it would be - result! Before you know it I'm harnessed up and waiting to go. I've gone for the slide option. I sit on the slide, and try not to look down, it's a 60m free fall until the swing bit kicks in. I shuffled off then the fall began, I yelled and yelled and yelled and then swore a lot! Unfortunately said swearing is fully audible hence the video not being on here, although I've been informed dad is trying to add some bleeps so it may well make it up on here yet. It was fantastic! Such amazing views and an amazing feeling! I was hoisted back up adrenalin pumping through my body! It all of a sudden makes a bungy jump not look so bad, but we will see, still not totally convinced........ Having survived this I thought I would congratulate myself with a Fergburger, opting for the veggie version this time which they name the Bun Laden! Yet again queenstown you have excelled yourself - a wicked 12 days!

Time to leave queenstown for the 2nd time, but i will be back again in 4 days time. I board the bus to dunedin for the 4 hr journey with no heating, it's soooooooo cold I can't feel my feet. We arrive and go on a quick tour on the city, but it was quick didn't really seem worth while, I will do it all again on foot, so my first day here has been spent booking stuff and getting my bearings a bit......should be a good few days......

Over and out for a few days.....

Lou (I've jumped off a cliff) wood xxx