New Zealand is said to be the adventure capital of the world. Venture capitalists in New Zealand are no doubt called upon to fund their fair share of adventure ventures… ok enough word play.
So far on our NZ adventure we’ve white water rafted, jet boated, horse rided, seal snorkelled, glacier walked, and puzzle worlded. That’s a lot of adventure – but in our mind, not really enough. Well in Robyn’s mind not nearly enough. Holidays for me are more about food, coffee and comfort – hence the flavour of many posts on this blog.
If New Zealand is the adventure capital of the world then Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand. For good reason. Everywhere you look there is adventure to be had. Our day out in Queenstown was probably the perfect blend of our different tastes in holiday experiences – with most of the fun being had out of Skyrail – certainly Queenstown’s crowning attraction in both the geographical and metaphorical sense. Skyrail, for those who came in late, starts with a gondola ride up the mountain in Queenstown’s CBD. On top of the hill you’ll find bungy jumping, paragliding, luging, and all the adventure you can poke a stick at. Well, those three pretty much covered it actually. But that’s not all.
But wait, there's more
There’s also the best buffet restaurant I’ve come across in a long time – any buffet dessert bar offering creme brulee, chocolate mouse, almond tart and tiramisu is on a winner in my books.
Just desserts
The savoury element was just as impressive.
After our lunch settled it was time to hit the slopes – for some luge action. I’m not big on heights, and chairlifts are right up there with things I don’t want to go on, but the ride was worth it. The luge was fun.
But it wasn’t enough for Robyn – her Picton cliff face experience had left her with a lemming like desire for more – hanging on wasn’t enough. She was determined to successfully throw herself off a cliff – so paragliding ticked all the boxes. I kept my feet on the ground as the dutiful photographer/sidekick/husband that I am while my wife joined a hirsuite German named Leno for a rapid descent.
The Leno show
Let's go fly a kite...
I was pretty relieved to meet her back at the gondola after her little jaunt – and with our need for adventure behind us we hit the little red car and made our way to Lake Tekapo – passing the types of rolling hills made famous by Lord of the Rings.
There are, as always, many photos in our New Zealand picasa album – so many, in fact, that I’ve had to start a second.