Queenstown

I spent two nights in total in Queenstown. I do wish I had an extra day or 2, or at least could have made them consecutive days. But since everyone is still on holiday, I had to make do with my last minute planning.

Coming into New Zealand.

After flying into New Zealand to some spectacular scenery, I hopped on a bus to my hostel in Queenstown. I walked around town a bit to explore and just took in the gorgeous Lake Wakatipu and mountains. I can see why so many people want to visit. I was able to soak in some different views along the lake's path.

Mountains, rocks, trees, and a lake.

I stopped at Atlas Beer Cafe to try my first local beer and to continue to take in the views of the lake. I really do love being around water. Especially with a beer in hand. They had a lot of local beers, but also Brooklyn Brewery. I thought that was pretty cool and very unusual. I haven't seen that anywhere else outside of the US. I saw it in Texas once and I thought that was unusual. Way to go Brooklyn. And it was draft. Although I didn't have any since I'm sticking to local beers on this trip. 

Brooklyn.

I of course then picked up some groceries and beer, and made dinner at the hostel. Dinner hasn't been fancy at all. Where I could eat out every meal in Southeast Asia, in New Zealand I can not. I could, I would just need to come home and find a job and then come back to eat. It costs too much money. But that's ok. I want to try some local foods, and I will, but most food that's offered, I can find at home. And I'm very hesitant to try New Zealand Mexican food. That truly has to wait until I get back to NYC.

New Zealand American Double IPA.

While enjoying my dinner and beer, I made friends with a few others staying in the hostel. We ended up getting kicked out of the kitchen at 10pm and went downstairs to continue hanging out and drinking. Somehow we ended up playing Never Have I Ever. I did have to correct the name a few times since it is a mouthful, especially for non-English native speakers. I learned some things about my new friends, very quickly. I was having fun, so then made the decision to continue the party out at the bars. I've rarely gone out on this trip, and figured why not. I was paying for it the next day for sure and this is why I slept on the bus, but it was worth it. And there may or may not have been a ride on a mechanical bull.

Riding the bull.

I had to get to bed eventually and left my new friends to head to bed. Well that did not go to plan at all. I get to my room, where I have stuff all over my bed and on the floor next to it, and find someone sleeping in it. First I think someone got in the wrong bed out of laziness or drunkenness. Nope. All the beds were taken. Wonderful. The hostel overbooked the room and this girl thought it was ok to get into my bed since it was empty. Oh boy. So we tried calling the manager a few times. No answer. I sent a couple of emails, and of course no response. I eventually resigned to the fact I was sleeping in the common room. But then some of my new friends returned and saw the note outside the hostel with an emergency contact. So we called the night manager and he sleepily came downstairs to help me out. He found a room for me, even though the guys weren't thrilled that I was crashing their room. Oh well. I had to get a couple hours of sleep before heading to Te Anau. Needless to say, it wasn't very restful. 

I headed off to Te Anau a bit sleepily, but had a good couple of days away. When I was in Te Anau, I had to figure out my plan for the next few days and try to find accommodation. Since everyone is on holiday, booking a bed has been a challenge. I booked a place in Wanaka, my next destination, but still needed to find a place in Queenstown. I finally grabbed a twin room for a price slightly out of my budget. But I need somewhere to sleep and didn't want to wander around Queenstown with my backpack. Especially in the predicted rain. 

I took a late morning bus back to Queenstown and actually saw the pretty scenery that I missed on the bus ride out. I wish I could make the bus stop so I could take photos. Or be on the lakeside of the bus. I was able to capture this though. 

Rainy bus ride.

I arrived back at the hostel I was at the first night. After the previous stay's debacle, I was a little hesitant on staying there again. But the mixup wasn't on the part of the hostel, but on the people in the room. It seems like every bed in New Zealand is booked up, so you can't just have your friend stay in the same room as you because you feel like it. So there was just a lack of consideration on the part of another guest. I got a refund, so that balanced out the more expensive room on my 2nd night. 

After relaxing for a little bit, I decided to venture out into the rain. I wandered around a bit and went into a few stores, including Lululemon of course. But I couldn't rationalize buying anything. So I didn't.  Reluctantly. 

Run.

I continued on my way and eventually it stopped raining. Excellent. So then went walking around town a bit more. I went to check out the gondola to see if it was worth a ride. It wasn't. So I continued in my wanders. 

Queenstown wanderings.

It was time for dinner, and instead of instant noodles, I went for the recommended steak at Atlas with some beer to wash it down. It was quite yummy and not that expensive. I need to splurge every once in a while. Maybe once a week? I've been doing a good job of doing breakfast and lunch on my own. And most dinners. 

Steak for dinner.

I hung out for a little bit at the hostel and then noticed the sunset. I immediately went outside along with the rest of Queenstown to capture some photos. After all that rain, the sunset was worth it. So beautiful. 

Stunning sunset.

I socialized with a few folks at the hostel and made plans for the following day. I had booked a bus to Wanaka, but this German girl I met, Verena, bought a car and was going up for the day. So I made plans to get a ride with her and cancelled my bus. The following morning, after getting a nice run along the lake, I met up with Verena and another new friend to head to Wanaka. Time for a road trip.