Queenstown

After our tramps, we have been taking it very easy. Lots of hanging around, watching TV, and using the Internet to see how the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing. Oh, and lots of trips to the supermarket to enjoy a variety of meals other than wraps, oatmeal, and Mr. Noodles.

GETTING SICK
Suddenly on Saturday afternoon, I started feeling really ill. About an hour later, I was over a bucket. That started a brutal 45 minute cycle of throwing up, and lying down feeling like I wanted to die. I think in the end, I threw up about 10-12 times over a 6 hour period. I can’t imagine what the other couple staying in our hostel dorm were thinking. The next day I went and bought a huge box of freezies to rehydrate. I can’t figure out what caused the illness (it only lasted about 20 hours). There was a bird flying around our room earlier that morning. It might have left a virus, which I picked up.

(The worst place for it to happen. The roof was too short for met to stand-up, and the sink was too small to wash your hands in)

AJ HACKETT’S JUMP START
When you’re in Queenstown, you can’t help but get caught up in the bungy jumping craze. I decided to buy AJ Hackett’s autobiography about the origins of bungy jumping, and the beginning of commercial operation (he didn’t invent bungy, but was the main pioneer). It was a really interesting read, as they started out with little knowledge of what would happen, and how the bungy cord would react with each jump. They would hike out to a deserted bridge, and jump-off. They would usually test the cord with a bag full of rocks. They learned the math behind jumping by doing it themselves. Good old Kiwi ingenuity.

INDOOR MINI GOLF
We went for a quick 18 holes at the Queenstown Indoor Mini Golf. It was the craziest mini golf round I have ever played. Only the pictures do it justice.

(On this hole, you putted the ball into a building, where the ball then automattically went up a chairlift, and then down the ski hill)

(This was a mountain village. Similar to the previous hole, but the ball comes down a river. There were different rivers for it to come down, some better than others. You never knew which hole it would come out)

(On the last hole, once you holed out, a lolly-pop would come down into the truck, and a willy wonka type song was played)

POTATO CHIP SANDWICH???
You meet and see the weirdest things living in hostels. One day I was coming back into my room, and a roommate was making a sandwich. I had just come in from the tramp, so I was noticing all food. I saw she had a nice loaf of bread. I notice the sandwich looked pretty thick, so I assumed it was a good sandwich, with lots of meats, veggies, etc. However, on closer inspection, I saw that the only thing in the sandwich was potato chips. So two pieces of bread, with potato chips in the middle. I had a very tough time holding in the laughter