I have made it to Christchurch-the largest city on the south island and again I am bewildered as to what Kiwis do in their cities. There is simply not a lot to do in the towns. Don't get me wrong. With its trams and churches it has the most European feel of all the cities so far and I like the feel of it. It has a wonderful square in the middle that has a life size chess set and a church by the same name. There was one night when we hit the town with some Kiwis and a very strange British girl who looked like Pocahontas. (More on Pocahontas). This is where Rachel comes into the picture. She is really good at meeting random people and getting them to go out. I met Rachel four years ago when I was island hopping in Greece. She is a crazy Aussie who I spent about four days with on the island of Ios partying like mad until the sun came up. Its just what you did in Ios. Anyway..we kept in touch and I had plans to see her in Melbourne, Australia at the end of my trip. She had some holiday time now and never had been to New Zealand so she flew in for about five days. I was glad for the company again as I knew we got along traveling just fine. Besides she is a hoot. We rented another car and off we went. (with an attached picture of George Bush on our ceiling for the fun of it)
First we went to Wanaka.
Wanaka is a sleepy little town right outside of Mt. Aspiring National Park. We only spent a night there but it was nice. I get really disoriented down here. It doesn't get dark here until about 10:30pm at night so the days are really long. Just about everyday at 9:30pm I look to see what time it is and I go, "its that late"? I feel like I am in Alaska with the snow capped mountains and it never getting dark. But eventually it does get dark and the stars come out. That night we sat around the common table at our hostel talking to other travelers when suddenly Rachel pulled me outside and proceeded to point to the night sky. It was a clear night, one of the few we have had. The air had a slight crisp to it-as if mountains were towering near by-and the stars where out in abundance. I had mentioned to Rachel that I hadn't seen the Southern Cross yet and there she was grinning and pointing right at it. And it was clear as day. For those who haven't seen it.. it looks something like this. It was fitting to see if for the first time in this rustic ski town in the mountains. And to have it pointed out by a long time friend who I met doing that same thing I am doing now. It was that moment that I really believed I was supposed to be there...doing just what I was doing as often times I have my doubts. But enough about that.
We moved onto Queenstown where we found the best hostel in the world. Sometimes what makes or breaks a town for you is the place you stay and the people you meet there. And out of all the hostels that I have been to in my life I can't think of a better atmosphere to base a hostel on. It simply felt like home. More on this later (The Last Resort). Queenstown actually surprised me. It is for all intense purposes the "adventure"capitol of the world. So naturally I thought it was going to be loud and full of tourists. It may be touristy, but its not overdone and over the top and it has some of the most remarkable scenery in New Zealand. And it has now become my unofficial base of operations for the southern half of the South Island. Little did I know that I would be returning here again and again. Some places just effect you that way.
Something worth noting about Wanaka and Queenstown. They are only about an hours drive apart from each other and both situated on a lake back dropped by mountains. Being quite similar they have developed a bit a of rivalry in the most unusual way. Both have gourmet burger joints that are infamous among Kiwis and travelers alike. Since Queenstown is more frequented by travelers its "Fergburger" is a bit more well known. But fame does NOT equal quality. (although i have to admit that Fergburger has much more wacky website) After sampling both it is my strong belief (and those of Rachel's, the Israelis that I hung out with in Queentown, and Caitlin's-an American that I watched the inauguration with) that Wanaka's "Red Star" takes the cake hands down. We even started a Facebook group in case your interested. You know..because trying to figure out what burger is better might keep you up at night. But I would go back any day to Wanaka for a BBG burger (about the size of my head) with pineapple, aolie, salad with a side order of the Cajun fries and Aolie sauce from Red Star Gourmet Burgers.
Better go work that burger off...
We move unto the highest mountain in New Zealand next.
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