Queenstown (Contiki Day 9)

Today I got my first sleep-in of the tour (very much enjoyed). For the afternoon a whole bunch of the Contiki crew went 'Mad Dog River Boarding'. This activity is basically swimming down a white-water river with a boogie board. The rapids were quite safe, with vey little rocks and appeared deep. Needless to say, there was a significant amount of carnage going down the rapids, with everyone bashing into each other. The whole flotila was about 5km.

At the end of the river, they had a giant jetski, with a huge foam pad dragging behind it. In groups of two, people got ripped around behind the jetski for a wild ride. After that, we headed to a giant 40-foot slide, where you could go down on your boogie board, in a variety of poses (on your knees, backwards, etc). After the slide was a giant swing. I held on too long and landed very ackwardly on my side. Ouch!

(me ripping down the slide. Do I look scared? Seems like a constant theme in New Zealand)

(View from across the river. You can see the slide starting just below the hut, and rope swing at the top of the platform. Just to the right is the skidoo parked.)

Our Hotel has an amazing view right from the bar. Here is what we look out onto. These jagged peaks were used for most of the high alpine shots in Lord of the Rings.

(amazing view from the hotel bar)

That night we headed into Queenstown for an 'Ice Bar'. The bar is in a giant fridge, and everything is made out of ice (the seats, cups, tables, etc). Naturally the drinks served were vodka mixers. They even supplied each person with a coat, gloves, and ugg boots. It was only about -5C, so I elected to appear tough and only use the jacket unzipped (Canadian eh).

(Jackie and Jarrod in the ice bar)

After the ice bar we headed to another club, where there was a free keg when you knew the secret password (password = "Smithers"). So I went up and said, "Smither please", and was presented with a free beer. I love this country. You could also buy bulk mixed drinks with tea cups.

Since today (January 26th) is Australia Day, we celebrated a lot (there are about 25 Aussies on our tour).