Day 37 Queenstown

Day 37 Queenstown

Having gone to bed early and exhausted yesterday, we were up at 8 and ready to go….of course it was the one day on this section of the trip that we didn’t need to get up at all! Anyway, we had a lovely breakfast overlooking the lake with the mountains in the background and then found a walking trail through the forest into town….  We went first to the Kiwi Birdlife Park – arriving just in time for the kiwi feeding and talk at 10…perfect timing to see the curious little creatures – actually a bit bigger than we thought…and almost mammal-like with whiskers, bone marrow and furry-looking feathers.  We also saw the various kinds of native parakeets, ducks and – with some persistence – the wekas.  The other star of the park is a reptile….the tuatara - - a 200 million year old species – possibly the only remaining reptile from the time of the dinosaurs and that lives to be 200 years old…very cool….  There was an excellent ‘conservation’ show and explanation of the breeding and release programmes undertaken by the trust that runs the park.  It wasn’t inexpensive but they receive no government funding and profit is put into further conservation…so it is well worth the entrance fee.  They made the point that one of the best things that tourists could do to help endangered species was to buy possum-fur products….to encourage the trapping of possums, introduced from Australia, deadly for all native land-based species and running rampant through both North and South Islands.

We walked from the park down into the town, exploring a few of the touristy streets (a queue for ‘Fergburgers’, sales in the mountain sport shops, ever more effusive advertisements for bungee jumping, skydiving, 4x4 safaris and dozens of other ways to maim or kill yourself and all at a stupidly high price)….got a coffee at a café in the Queenstown mall and sat in the shade near the lakeside beach watching the gondolas and paragliders behind us and jetboats, pedalos, sailboats, swimmers (oooh..cold!) and steamboat enjoying the lake.  We strolled along the harbourside and found the underwater observatory where the trout, salmon, diving ducks and New Zealand long-finned eel obligingly put on a show for us.

We had a late lunch/early dinner at Hell Pizza….Rob had a ‘lust’ pizza and I had ‘Purgatory’ - - not sure what the psychology of that might be… and then climbed the forest path back to the hotel.  Our plans for the evening include repacking, reading, chilling - - and ordering room service if necessary!