YIKES, WE LIKE TRIKES -
Thursday 19th October was the most stunning day to be cycling on a floating, eco-friendly, water bicycle in a mellow 24 degrees heat. Naturalement, we outcrazied everyone else on the lake, sharing laughs on board the bike as Amy let me slack off; all the while swapping witticisms. I should have dressed more appropriately for pedalling rather than wearing my granny-esque maxi dress. We followed up our 'spin' session with Amy's introductory lunch at Pita Pit as I like her enough to share healthy, Mediterranean fast food.
THESE ARE GOOD TIMES -
A Remarkables Fudge Shoppe tasting of the world famous confection holidaymakers huddle there for was in order. Amy picked up a $4 lucky dip bag and 100 grams of dark chocolate and salted caramel fudge which was so kissably fantastic. Their flavours here are out of fudge fairy tales! Afterwards, we sorted our 'affairs' quickly and efficiently at the local library before buying beautiful beads. I know everything sounds sorta scheduley but I had compiled an action-packed itinerary to fit in as much of Kiwi Land as poss for ma soeur.
Queenstown Gardens present a paradisiacal environment with 36.4 immaculate acres of backyard, an eye-catching stone arched bridge and silver birch trees. Buzzy bumblebees have themselves a whole buffet of daffodils, tulips and bluebells aflame with painter palette pigments.
I'll hold my hands up, I'm the worst thrower of a Frisbee! Is there an exact science to it or what? While, I am sucky, Amy wasn't much better so this paragraph is the last we will ever speak of it. I can't pretend I didn't chase the spherical disc downhill with the Phoebe from Friends run, worrying it would splash into the lake below; Amy roared hysterically and mocked me as I did so. Guys on the course nearby stepped out of our crossfire for their own safety. We DID manage to chuck a couple of spinning discs in the metal baskets ... just not until we were only centimetres away from the target.
We were Pied Pipers to the stalker, park ducks; it wasn't a good time for us! Amy and I refused to give the duckies preferential treatment as Amy's not a fan. It's like the Central Park of Queenstown just not as large and as they sing in La La Land, you will stumble on views tailor made for two.
Without being millionaires ourselves, we took a 90 minute sail from end to end of Wakatipu on the family owned, Million Dollar Cruise. No one was smiling when we waited to hop on the boat as a wasp was attracted to a lady's ice cream in front of us and kept hovering buzzily before settling in the woman's crotch!!! EEEKKKKK! It was funny to see the rainbow trouts feeding as the big 'uns undercut all the weaklings to steal the snackage; circling ravenously like Great Whites in Jaws.
It was relaxing to recline on deck; loving life cos Queenstowny Amy and Rianne are mega chill! Refreshing breeze misting our faces as the vessel splashed with the currents. Some areas are shallow enough to walk to shore but we didn't test this out. Max, our skipper, gave ongoing commentary as 60 passengers sat back crossing the calm, crystalline waters. Some fabulous dinner parties could be thrown onboard!
Our eyes were seduced by stunning sights of : Kawarau Falls Station, Willow Islands, The Remarkables Mountain Range, the historic dam and posh homes. The only off-putting thing was too many unripped men were topless to take full advantage of Mr Blue Sky and the sun having its hat on. The light reflected off the surface of the pristine water with shimmery ripples, azure in colouration.
I am VERY into avo on pizza and Hell Pizza served up a snack size Brimstone offering with Cajun chicken, onions, tomatoes, salsa and a swirling of sour cream - all the better to bite it with. I go to sleep and dream of this soul mate pizza.
Below Zero Ice Bar was minus 12 degrees C and it felt invigorating after the hotness of the day. The hooded jackets and soft gloves provided kept us snug as a hug in the hippest bar constructed completely out of 35 tonnes of hand-crafted carvings, furniture, walls and even the glasses. We drank up our mocktails in the ice shot glasses; my Icicle mocktail was a zesty combo of kiwi and apple juice which you don't often find together.
We discovered today that while we may not be amazeballs at Frisbee Golf, we're VERY good at crushing table ice hockey! Grooving to the musica like ding dongs and snapping timed selfies with photo props in the ice booth brought happy times for Amy and me.
The arctic kingdom is right out of Disney's Frozen, complete with throne, Santa's sleigh, Olaf and a fireplace. We lasted the longest amount of time in the chilly temps, as those who came in with us were long gone as the recommended time is a mere 20-30 minutes but we were there for an hour. Our shoes were sticking to the floor and my feet were not insulated enough so they'd turned to ice lollies and were numbing but I'm hard core. When we eventually took our leave, I was hit with a severe, strangulated case of hiccups which had Amy and I cracking up when we entered a gift store. The involuntary contractions went Hulk on my throat!
At Patagonia Ice Creamery, I created my own ice cream stick with a raspberry and cream gelato base, dunked in pure, molten milk choc and topped with almonds. I was in piggy mode and can attest that Patagonia are Jedis of ice cream! The toppings I picked out were miraculously mmmmmm!! I wore Amy out after a full on day where we: aqua cycled, giggled, frisbeed, cruised, froze and ice creamed.
A new and glorious morn began as we breakfasted in Bob's Weigh In on chocolate muffin and a bowl of hot chocolate. They are such awesome breakfast makers! My beverage bowl was wonderfully thermal and tres delicieux! Hettie's rock and crystal shop is like Aladdin's cave of wonders jampacked with rare gems, fossils and minerals all of which come with a card detailing their healing properties if you're into that sort of thing. I came away with a chipped amethyst bracelet, blue moonstone (which is a wishing stone), a bottle of blue topaz bits and a selenite sphere.
A bucket of sunshine was tipped all over Queenstown as we sat at the village green for Jazzfest. Only some jazz was sung but it was clearly enough to constitute a festival and the musicians were all unbelievably talented. It was fun to kick back as they jammed for our entertainment.
Nothing else on the water even compares to the adrenaline pumping thrill ride of a K Jet. It was an ongoing party but we were the only ones wooo-ing away at the back of the banana yellow, jet boat as we blasted over the serene Wakatipu. The K Jet is famed for being Q-town's original jet boat ride, covering 43 kilometres in an hour from the main pier. It was a tad unrealistic for anyone to hope to stay dry while hurtling along the willow bordered Kawarau River, agog at mountainous surroundings.
The crucial clue we watched out for was the driver's hand signal warning of an impending 360 degree spin; while secure in life jackets this is the biggest rush! Our hunky driver outwitted nature when we had intentional close shaves with rocks and trees and bushes. He negotiated the raging rapids at speeds of 85km and darted down the Shotover River's swiftly moving braids. The water is less than 10 cm deep in some areas! It's my idea of a wild time and we truly had a radiant day for it! We were loving the wind in our hair and river water spraying our face and drenching the rain macs that the company had distributed.
Amy bought the photo package as we already had video footage and selfies of us on the jet. At the Underwater Observatory (where the clichéd souvenirs are sold), we fed brown and rainbow trout and eels. A guitarist and his singing dog had Amy and I awwing and dorking out before we lunched on honey chicken fried rice.
We returned to Jazzfest to chill in the sunshine! I have a newfound appreciation for this music genre but a psycho heckler spoilt the ambiance screaming out at the performers 'HAVE SOME FUN!' and 'ENTERTAIN US!' An old fella called out 'this is rock n roll' while boogying on down with a Japanese tourist on the bridge that he didn't even know; it wasn't the most coordinated choreo but they gave us all a good laugh.
QUEENSTOWN, YOU LOOK MIGHTY LOVELY TONIGHT -
I'm totally over tongue staining, frozen sugar syrup slushies from corner stores. I used to think they were hilarious as a kid and will still drink them to this day if someone offers me one but don't ask me to love them. I crushed our grub of half peri peri chicken, sweet potato fries and dough balls at The Pig and Whistle pub and not a person appeared to be grossed out. Our smorgasbord of treats had all the makings of a GREAT meal but it could have used some more spice.
Rebuffing the 150 bars and restaurants, we promenaded along the pier at twilight to see downtown twinkling BEAUTIFULLY. Amy is always fun to hang with but as this looks romantical, I've got to go find a boyfriend for next time.
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