Blessed with yet another breathtaking panorama from the van this morning in Queenstown, we were in no particular hurry to move on. Eventually, it was time to shimmy though, and first stop was the Mediterranean Food Market to graze at a fantastic deli and bakery - the food here in NZ is always so decent and chic markets like this one seem to be extremely popular.

Next, we headed over to the Skyline Gondola. We'd booked tickets to ride the gondola up the huge mountain-side on the edge of town, to reach the luge centre at the top. Other people were taking mountain bikes up to an extreme trail all the way back down as well.

As we started to travel up the Gondola, the views of Queenstown, the lake, and the mountains became even more impressive. We stopped to enjoy it with a coffee at a café at the top station. Apparently, in Maori legend, the lake is known as the 'hollow of the giant'. The waters rise and fall every five minutes - according to myth this reflects the giant's heartbeat.

Anyway, before we could tackle the fast luge track, we had to pass the introductory one. Kids were allowed to do this one alone, so surely we'd be ok. A ski lift carried us up to the start of the track, and then we basically just had to sit in a little gravity-fuelled cart, pulling the handlebars to steer around a down-hill track. The scenic route was a leisurely ride with gentle gradient, easy bends, tunnels and dips. It took a while to get used to it but we passed with flying colours, earning a stamp on our hands to head back up the ski-lift and use the next three turns on the advanced track. That's when things got interesting. Ok, let's not get carried away... it was more Mario Kart than Brands Hatch, but there was a steeper gradient and banked corners, tunnels, steep dips, and tight turns. Despite a few near-misses, and one hairy three-cart pile-up, the whole thing was so much more fun than we expected, and we very much recommend it to anyone in Queenstown.

Before we headed back down on the Gondola, we had a look at the 47-metre high bungy jumping platform near the Skyline building. No one was jumping, so the sales guys gave it a good go at convincing us to try it. We stepped away when he explained jumpers' legs are fastened together with self-tying towels (as in bath towels!) - they apparently tighten around the ankles when you jump! It wasn't doing it for us, but we followed advice to visit the Kawarau Bridge, which is where bungy jumping was invented. It was just a short drive outside the town, and there was a large Bungy Centre, with bungy trampolines and photos and videos explaining the history of bungy. It was a very peaceful spot, and the historic bridge from which people jump was very pretty. We were shocked people as young 10 can jump, and when we watched a young teenager do it some of Bret's competitive spirit rubbed off on Nat who decided there's no way we could wimp out. Bret's favourite excuse of "can we afford it?" stalled us long enough for spaces to get booked up by the time we'd worked out the budget (nicely swerved, Bret!). But we did discover a good internet 2-for-1 deal on a jump in the North Island, so perhaps we'll brave it there…

Back on the road, we decided to continue our journey on to Wanaka this afternoon to bring us back on schedule after our diversion to Tekapo a few days ago. We're sad to leave Queenstown, but another night here could be detrimental to our budget - there's just so much to do! But, hopefully we'll be back one day for winter skiing.

For now though, we headed to exceedingly quaint Arrowtown where we stopped for a bite to eat. The town sprang up in the 1860s following the discovery of gold in the Arrow River. Lots of the original wooden and stone buildings are still there, many of which are converted into gorgeous little galleries, cafes and shops along tree-lined avenues. Spods know the river that runs through the town is the the place where Arwen, the Elf Princess, carried Frodo by horseback away from the evil horseman of Mordor... whispering a spell at the ford to sweep them away in the stream itself. We got all that from a guide book, not being spods ourselves. That would be sad.

We headed to Provisions Café, at one of Arrowtown's oldest cottages, and sat in the fragrant garden to enjoy a lovely homemade pie in the Autumn sun. Arrowtown is popular at this time of year when leaves in the trees turn gold and red. It didn't disappoint and we were almost charmed into staying the night. But, still determined to make up for lost time, we continued on to Wanaka after eating. Well, after Nat picked up her fudge quota from Ye Olde Sweet Shop...

Apparently people head to Wanaka as an alternative to Queenstown, and there's definitely a lot to do here too. But down by the lakeside it certainly felt a lot more laid-back than its hyped-up sibling. It was another pretty drive to get here, across the Crown Range. And, although we were worried about reaching Wanaka before sundown, George did us proud despite steep climbs and windy roads. In fact, our timing was impeccable, and our prize was possibly the most impressive sunset we've ever seen. We couldn't resist pulling over beside the lake to enjoy it. Then, after trying a couple of pricey campsites in town, we headed to Albert Town - about ten minutes away - to camp in a simple DOC site. Now, we're kicking back and relaxing beside a pretty stream whilst cooking up another pasta dinner on the camping stove. Bliss.