Tuesday, September 9th~
I got up around 7 today, showered, got my stuff together, and went to breakfast. It had to be an early start because at 8:30, I got picked up by Dart Stables to go and do The Ride of the Rings!!! We stopped in Glenorchy to get rain coats and helmets, and then continued on to the very aptly named township of Paradise. There were only 4 people plus the guide, so it was a nice small group. We were each paired with a horse, and then we set off. Mine was Chester, a beautiful ginger horse and sort of the leader of the pack. He liked to walk near the front of the line, which was hunky dory with me. We rode through the cold and drenching rain to see various sites from Lord of the Rings filming, including Loth Lorien, the distant site of Isengard, the field where Gandalf calls Shadowfax, and where Boromir was killed. However, the fun didn’t end there! We also saw places where they filmed scenes for the upcoming X-men spin-off Wolverine, where Prince Caspian fell from his horse and Trufflehunter’s house from The Chronicles of Narnia, and where they filmed some scenes for Willow! Very exciting stuff. Apparently, Peter Jackson also filmed some scenes there for The Lovely Bones, which is fun because the bulk of the filming was done back in Westchester, PA. Small world! And yes, since it was raining, I managed to get soaked on this activity, too.
I got back to Queenstown in time to meet the group to go on the Gondola (the steepest in the world), and the luge (a kind of go-cart situation, supposedly very fun), but most people bailed when they heard the luge was closed due to rain. Scotty, Megan, Laura T., Tracey and I still went for the gondola experience. I imagine it’s quite magnificent when there aren’t clouds shrouding your view. We chatted over hot beverages in the café at the top and browsed the souvenir selection before heading back down the mountain. When we got down, I left the others to go and check out the Kiwi and Birdlife Park. Why do I insist on observing animals in the rain? I walked around for a while and determined that it definitely wasn’t worth the $33. And that was with the YHA discount. But it was cool to see the Kiwis. They’re nocturnal, so I couldn’t take any pictures, but I still enjoyed the spectacle. I was shocked at how big they are; I always figured they were, like, the same size as the fruit, but these guys were the size of basketballs!
I went from there to wander around downtown Queenstown and Ran into Laura T. and Tracey again. They were on their way to taste wine and I hastily joined them. The shop we went to was really cool! The walls were lined with bottles of wine, enclosed behind glass and hooked up to dispensers. When you get there, you get a card and can either use it as a credit card and pay on your way out, or put money on it and use it like a debit card; then they give you a wine glass and you insert your card into the various dispensers , push a button and presto! Wine for the tasting! I stuck to New Zealand wines, and studiously recorded every one that I tasted, mostly so that I could hold and intelligent conversation with Cassy later. After we had sampled as much as we could before they kicked us out for a private function, we went to the food court to get a light Indian snack, then headed back to our room at the Lakeview Holiday Park.
It ended up being a pretty quiet Tuesday evening; everyone split up for dinner. Scotty, Laura T., Tracey, Vicki and I went to a delightful pub, The Pig and Whistle. I had bangers and mash and some yummy Montheith’s Black. Totally delish; I would recommend it to anyone passing through Queenstown. We went to the Buffalo Club to meet the rest of the group, but shortly after we got there, almost everyone left to go to bed. I stuck around for a little bit, but before long, the rest of us decided to head back, too. Kind of a bummer of a night out, but hey, at least I didn’t spend a lot of money.
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Day 4: Look, ma, I'm in New Zealand!
Friday, September 5th~
After a 1am fire alarm at the hostel, I managed to get up and out by 6am to catch the airport shuttle. I have never had an easier time getting through security and customs, and everyone was all goodness and kindness. Happily, I was able to catch up with Shir one last time in the Duty Free shops. We were both heading to Christchurch, NZ, at the same time, but weren’t on the same flight. Bummer. But it was cool to see her again. We convinced each other that candy was an appropriate breakfast.
From a great distance, New Zealand looked to be framed by wide sandy beached. However, as we got closer and closer, those sandy beaches turned out to be the mighty snow-capped peaks of the Southern Alps. Magnificent!
Upon arrival in Christchurch, I found a shuttle, checked into my hostel, and took off to explore Cathedral Square. First, I checked out the cathedral itself. It’s an impressive building, dark grey stone rising out of a large paved square, closed off to all traffic but trams. I paid $2 to climb the tower, and it was well worth it. Well, first of all, (for those of you who aren’t aware) I kind of have a thing for spiral staircases, so I got my fix for a while. But the view was just lovely. Looking out over Cathedral Square, I watched people milling around some carts laden with wool scarves and gloves and trucks selling kebabs and chips; I watched men playing a game of chess with super large pieces on a board at least 2meters X 2meters (heh, I said meters. Embrace the metric system). I spent all of my batteries snapping shots from the heights, so I headed back to my room to charge them. On my way, I ran into a couple of girls from the shuttle and they invited me to join them on a town tram tour. It wasn’t bad; Christchurch really is a lovely town, but I don’t think the tour was worth $14.
At this point it was only 4:30 in the afternoon, but we (Marie, Vicki and I) were hungry, and opted for an early dinner. After some aimless wandering, we landed at Valentino’s. An excellent choice! We had a really nice cabernet/shiraz/merlot blend and I had an absolutely delectable lamb dish. Delicious!
After I had said goodnight to Marie and Vicki, I hit the bar connected to the hostel for a beer. There, I met Luke, a delightful Canadian from Alberta. We enjoyed some conversation over a few beers (Monteith’s Original; New Zealand beer is waaay better than Australian beer!), but by 10:15, I called it a night. Up early for the tour!
After a 1am fire alarm at the hostel, I managed to get up and out by 6am to catch the airport shuttle. I have never had an easier time getting through security and customs, and everyone was all goodness and kindness. Happily, I was able to catch up with Shir one last time in the Duty Free shops. We were both heading to Christchurch, NZ, at the same time, but weren’t on the same flight. Bummer. But it was cool to see her again. We convinced each other that candy was an appropriate breakfast.
From a great distance, New Zealand looked to be framed by wide sandy beached. However, as we got closer and closer, those sandy beaches turned out to be the mighty snow-capped peaks of the Southern Alps. Magnificent!
Upon arrival in Christchurch, I found a shuttle, checked into my hostel, and took off to explore Cathedral Square. First, I checked out the cathedral itself. It’s an impressive building, dark grey stone rising out of a large paved square, closed off to all traffic but trams. I paid $2 to climb the tower, and it was well worth it. Well, first of all, (for those of you who aren’t aware) I kind of have a thing for spiral staircases, so I got my fix for a while. But the view was just lovely. Looking out over Cathedral Square, I watched people milling around some carts laden with wool scarves and gloves and trucks selling kebabs and chips; I watched men playing a game of chess with super large pieces on a board at least 2meters X 2meters (heh, I said meters. Embrace the metric system). I spent all of my batteries snapping shots from the heights, so I headed back to my room to charge them. On my way, I ran into a couple of girls from the shuttle and they invited me to join them on a town tram tour. It wasn’t bad; Christchurch really is a lovely town, but I don’t think the tour was worth $14.
At this point it was only 4:30 in the afternoon, but we (Marie, Vicki and I) were hungry, and opted for an early dinner. After some aimless wandering, we landed at Valentino’s. An excellent choice! We had a really nice cabernet/shiraz/merlot blend and I had an absolutely delectable lamb dish. Delicious!
After I had said goodnight to Marie and Vicki, I hit the bar connected to the hostel for a beer. There, I met Luke, a delightful Canadian from Alberta. We enjoyed some conversation over a few beers (Monteith’s Original; New Zealand beer is waaay better than Australian beer!), but by 10:15, I called it a night. Up early for the tour!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Land Down Under
It is about 9am, Thursday, July 17th. After countless hours on airplanes (or "aeroplanes" and they are called here) I am in Australia! I am writing this from a computer in the Qantas Club in the airport (aeroport?) in Adelaide. Swanky, no? I was kindly informed when I arrived to check in this morning that I would be flying business class to my final destination of Alice Springs. The generosity of my aunt and uncle never stops, it seems, as they were the ones to make the arrangements. Normally, this would be my cue to feel unworthy and undeserving of such preferential treatment by an airline, but after some hellish airport experiences, I think I'm a little bit more accepting.
But who wants to hear mopey air (aero) travel stories? Considering that all six little children sitting around me on a 17 hour flight were actually quite adorable and well-behaved, we only were on the ground in Sydney for an hour and a half to refuel, I was able to get a flight to Adelaide only a couple of hours after my missed connection in Melbourne, and my duffel bag should meet me in Alice today or tomorrow, I don't really have that much to complain about.
I was greeted in Adelaide by my aunt's father, David, and his wife, Lyn. More obliging hosts I could not hope for! They gave me a driving tour of Adelaide on the way back to their house. It is a beautiful town. It is set up on a grid, framed by North, West, South and East Terraces, which are themselves framed by the "Green Belt" around the entire city. It was built as a planned city, so the streets are logical and there's lots of green space. It's the dead of winter here (a bitingly cold 60 degrees), so a lot of the trees have lost their leaves, but the grass is very green. There are lots of olive trees and fig trees, but the major industry in South Australia is wine. When I come back this way, I will certainly be touring some of the vineyards. One of the more eye-catching features of the city was, for me, Rundle Mall (at least I think that's what it's called). It's a pedestrian street that looked so much like Church Street in Burlington, VT, that I wanted to cry. I can't wait to explore it when I am back in town.
David and Lyn brought me back to their house in Walkerville, a charming suburb of Adelaide, walking distance from town. David pulled out an atlas and gave me a much-appreciated crash course on Australian geography. At my behest, he and Lyn compiled a "Don't miss it" list of things to do while I'm in Australia. They themselves have traveled around quite a bit, having recently returned from a four month tour of the eastern part of the country by caravan. (I'm not sure exactly what they mean by caravan. RV? Long line of cars? I'll let you know when I know.)
While Lyn prepared dinner, David busted out his home videos of a vacation to South Africa some 12 years ago and, after some ribbing from his wife, footage of my Uncle Timmy and his family. Just in case I wasn't already excited enough to see them, this definitely got my adrenaline pumping.
Dinner was superb, as was the cab/shiraz blend that accompanied it. David called it a skinless bottle, which is apparently a colloquialism for excess wine that is bottled and sold dirt cheap without a label. Like, $5 a bottle cheap. What a bloody fantastic idea! The jury is still out on whether or not David made up the phrase "skinless bottle", but I'll go with it. For dessert, Lyn baked a pudding. That's right, baked, not mixed with water and refrigerated. This is a strange land! A strange and delicious land!
I forced myself to stay awake until 7:45, and then fell gratefully into bed. This morning, I feel like I have the upper hand on jet lag and I am ready to see my new desert home. Can't wait!
Peace.
But who wants to hear mopey air (aero) travel stories? Considering that all six little children sitting around me on a 17 hour flight were actually quite adorable and well-behaved, we only were on the ground in Sydney for an hour and a half to refuel, I was able to get a flight to Adelaide only a couple of hours after my missed connection in Melbourne, and my duffel bag should meet me in Alice today or tomorrow, I don't really have that much to complain about.
I was greeted in Adelaide by my aunt's father, David, and his wife, Lyn. More obliging hosts I could not hope for! They gave me a driving tour of Adelaide on the way back to their house. It is a beautiful town. It is set up on a grid, framed by North, West, South and East Terraces, which are themselves framed by the "Green Belt" around the entire city. It was built as a planned city, so the streets are logical and there's lots of green space. It's the dead of winter here (a bitingly cold 60 degrees), so a lot of the trees have lost their leaves, but the grass is very green. There are lots of olive trees and fig trees, but the major industry in South Australia is wine. When I come back this way, I will certainly be touring some of the vineyards. One of the more eye-catching features of the city was, for me, Rundle Mall (at least I think that's what it's called). It's a pedestrian street that looked so much like Church Street in Burlington, VT, that I wanted to cry. I can't wait to explore it when I am back in town.
David and Lyn brought me back to their house in Walkerville, a charming suburb of Adelaide, walking distance from town. David pulled out an atlas and gave me a much-appreciated crash course on Australian geography. At my behest, he and Lyn compiled a "Don't miss it" list of things to do while I'm in Australia. They themselves have traveled around quite a bit, having recently returned from a four month tour of the eastern part of the country by caravan. (I'm not sure exactly what they mean by caravan. RV? Long line of cars? I'll let you know when I know.)
While Lyn prepared dinner, David busted out his home videos of a vacation to South Africa some 12 years ago and, after some ribbing from his wife, footage of my Uncle Timmy and his family. Just in case I wasn't already excited enough to see them, this definitely got my adrenaline pumping.
Dinner was superb, as was the cab/shiraz blend that accompanied it. David called it a skinless bottle, which is apparently a colloquialism for excess wine that is bottled and sold dirt cheap without a label. Like, $5 a bottle cheap. What a bloody fantastic idea! The jury is still out on whether or not David made up the phrase "skinless bottle", but I'll go with it. For dessert, Lyn baked a pudding. That's right, baked, not mixed with water and refrigerated. This is a strange land! A strange and delicious land!
I forced myself to stay awake until 7:45, and then fell gratefully into bed. This morning, I feel like I have the upper hand on jet lag and I am ready to see my new desert home. Can't wait!
Peace.
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