Remarkable place

Goodbyes to my Sydney host family in the morning. Last minute travel and lodging arrangements online before getting dropped off at airport. All hostels are full now. DOH! Found pretty good hotel deals, phew! Got a free extra-leg-room seat upgrade when checking in for my flight by the friendly agent who also didn’t check my carry-on weight was over the (very restrictive) limit. She said she thought I was cool (damn straight!). Flight was pretty good with my legs fully stretched in spite of the 3-hour baby cry fest. Downloaded Netflix content paired with noise cancelling headphones and a little extra volume was enough to mitigate the acoustic crisis.

Boom! Getting off the plane at Queenstown you are greeted by a very picturesque landscape and a welcoming cool air that felt like a soft caress after the punishing Sydney heat. Took a second to take it in. The mountain range around Queenstown is called The Remarkables, and that they are. Not very tall, but very Lord of The Rings-ish. Smooth pass thru customs. Felt very welcomed. Super friendly airport staff pointed where to get some cash and bus card. Everyone here is so extra nice. Hotel staff at reception and restaurant were awesome too. The online deal I found was even better than I thought as I got another free upgrade. Good day.

Productive morning work session followed by lakeside stroll into town for a recon mission. What I’ve heard about this place is mostly true. So pretty here. Spotted a gorgeous golf course on a small peninsula. That’s happening at some point. As with all popular destinations, it is not surprising, yet still annoying, that there are too many tourists in town (says the tourist who just got to town). But on such a nice day it doesn’t matter. Just walking around partaking in the holiday vibes.

Spotted the word “Arepa” on the corner of my eye. A Venezuelan food joint! Reina Pepiada was on point and Mexican horchata hit the mark. Met a friendly local while waiting for food who professed her love of arepas, so I shared some culinary background from home. Met another American couple at the gondola who had recently been globetrotters for 2 years and now struggling to readjust to sedentary life in Colorado. Is this in my future? They were just trapped days ago at Milford sound due to recent heavy rains and flooding and had to get airlifted. Yikes! There is a good chance I may not be able to visit that very popular site now. ☹️

Back at the hotel met an incoming guest speaking Spanish with the receptionist and we all became buddies; as we do. Next day we went for an easy hike with splendid views and later ran off a mountain on a paragliding flight. Just a regular kind of day you have in Queenstown. Had to then head back to work in the evening and transfer hotels instead of added time exploring with my new friend. It is not all fun and games folks! The struggle is real.

New hotel is nice albeit removed yet comfortable to work from with less distractions. There aren’t really many convenient work spots in town. You can take a water taxi from here which adds to the fun. Met a new CSer for some more afternoon walks through the gardens and later a Thai meal complemented with some ice cream (y’all know how I roll). This day was a bit chilly for summer but it added a nice crispness to a sunny day. Big temperature drop after sunset tho (9C/48F). Jumped on the last water taxi back to the hotel. As I stared at the near blinding full moon reflecting over the lake, being bounced playfully over the choppy waters of a chilly and windy night, a soft and pleasant sense of muted peaceful joy washed through the back of my head; a natural high that induced an unrestrainable smirk on my face.

Seems Sydney has been drowned in heavy rains since I left. Downpours before my arrival here raised the lake’s level at least 4 feet and caused flooding elsewhere. I’ve been pretty lucky as the weather for me has been absolutely splendid so far. Let’s hope I can keep up with the good streak…

Lazy Sunday of staying in bed late (after being up late) then meander around my side of the lake on a perfect day outside. So so so pretty and calm and relaxing. Started to plan some future day activities but decided to rather just flip off all switches and do absolutely nothing, frolic, and enjoy the day. Blissy blissful blissiest bliss. I could try describe it more eloquently, but I won’t.

After an extended work day I felt guilty not being outside enjoying such perfect weather in such a gotta-be-outside place. Made it into town again early evening and returned to the gardens to collect more flower shots. Nice vibes walking around the sunset crowds by the lake shore. Even tho I have meet a few people here and there, I had a brief moment of loneliness watching all the bustling social scenes of different groups enjoying and sharing together. Then I overheard some of the conversations and my predilection for solo traveling was quickly reinvigorated. Wrapped the evening losing some coin at the local tiny casino, then a light dinner and… ice cream! Note to self: do more hiking, you ice cream junkie!

In this town there is everything available to do in the outdoors. Well, except surfing. But we all know how that’s going for me, so not an issue right now. Of course almost all thing, except most hikes, costs money to do and not a little bit either. It is a real test of discipline to stay here for several days and keep up with my job responsibilities while taming the urges to indulge in all the fun activities on the menu. If it weren’t for the cost I would be struggling even more. It is already hard enough to just not be outside all the time even if just walking around.

Here are some of those pretty flowers…