Queenstown--so amazing!!!

They call this mountain range the New Zealand Alps, and it's no wonder! From the minute we drove into this area it's easy to see why this is an adreniline junkies heaven!

Terry picked some really cool excursions for us. Her nephew, artist, Cory Marshall, has a beautiful downtown art gallery here, and I've grown fond of his work. We started off taking a one hour thrill ride on a k-jet boat. Some of our group--James included, was not prepared or impressed! These boats travel at very high speeds, through narrow and shallow gorges--and they somehow make fast circles that will both drench you and take your breath away! It was a little bumpy getting through the rough waters of the larget harbor, but then it calmed down and we really flew! I LOVED it, but James not so much.

Since the weather was starting to turn we quickly headed up in a gondola to take some luge rides. This gondola was straight up the face of a shear mountain, and it was equipped to take hikers, mountain bikers and us! It was impressive! After a very quick tutorial we were off! We were on a cement track with very few gardrails and although there were height restrictions, there was nothing stopping folks from sitting very young children in their laps. It goes without saying this is an accident waiting to happen--and it would never be allowed in the United States! What could go wrong flying down a track, neck and neck, chasing your friends for bragging rights??? Being the super competitive bunch we were, we had the best time ever! I highly recommend this!

After an amazing day we walked to Terry and Simon's lakefront hotel for dinner! It was so much fun! It's so cool It stays light so late.

When we got back to our hotel we had to pack and get ready for our flight from Queenstown to Auckland. It sure is tough to leave this beautiful city and region of south island. It was especially fun to spend time with so many fun friends. Oh ya, the shopping here was amazing too! I can't believe James and I had to stop at kmart to get a new huge suitcase to bring home all our recent purchases!Read more