Arrived in Queenstown Today

It was raining in Christchurch when I left this morning... Sunshine in Queenstown.  Coming into the Queenstown airport is amazing... the mountains are above the clouds and they still have so much snow on them.  The river is simply amazing.  It's something out of this world!!!

I know that this blog is going to freak some of you out, but trust me, it's not that bad.  I met a really nice gentlemen at the Christchurch Airport this morning headed to Queenstown.  He was so sweet and nice and we had the loveliest conversation.  When I arrived in Queenstown, he suggested several hikes and mountain bike trails that I should use.  He even called his daughter-in-law and asked for suggestions from her since she lives in Queenstown.  Long story short, I got a ride from the guy and went out to meet his daughter-in-law for coffee.  Lesson learned... some people are genuinely nice and aren't looking for anything in return! 

Here are pictures of Jim and Monty at his son and daughter-in-laws house a little further South of Queenstown... it was lovely sitting/watching the lake and mountains while having coffee this morning:

 View from Jim's Son and Daughter-In-Laws

 Hi Monty... so sweet!

 Monty has to be tied back up.

 Jim and Monty

 Stop #1, the Gondola... I'm hiking up!

 Heading up the trail!

 Rocky the whole way... I took a small rock... let's see if it gets through customs!

 Great use of an old tree stump!

 Can you see the luge run???

 I see LA... where's Diego!

  Absolutely beautiful!

 Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu from the Gondola overlook.  I hiked up!  I am going to try the luge tomorrow!

 It was an amazing day!

 View of the lake from the Gondola

 Walk back down from the Gondola and starting the real hike!

 Getting closer to the top!

 So close... yet so far away!

 A lot closer than before... wish I were climbing today!

 And there she is... best seat in the house!

 Don't I look happy! Stupid workout shades broke in my luggage!

 I made it to the top of Fernhill!

 Lake Wakatipu from Mountain Top!

 I amaze myself some times!

 I'm getting better at the self pictures!!!! Ha!

 Beauty still brings me to my knees

 Lake Wakatipu!

 Heading downhill!

 I spotted my first Mountain Goat!!!!  Click on the image and you'll be able to see him!

 And it's time to start going downhill :(

 Another dark creepy trail!

 Beautiful Pink Flowers!

 More beautiful purple flowers

 More Golden Flowers!  I never get tired of them... they smell like peaches

 Ha... I saw a girl kicking some guys butt on this mountain!   I hope they weren't dating!

 Extreme Sports!

 Finished Fernhill loop!

 Almost at the bottom.

 This is just a little ridiculous... just for extreme mountain biking... walking through, I could hear the trees creeking and saw them swaying back and forth... crazy.

 If I didn't travel today and didn't plan to do a mega mountain bike ride tomorrow, it would have been lovely to hike the 8hr track!

 This was set at 3Hours starting at the Fernhill Trailhead...  So if you're good at math and knowing that I'm known to get lost while hiking... I hiked a total of 5hr45mins in under 3.5hours (This includes the 1 hour to get up to the Gondola!  Yes, I'm feeling just a little awesome right now!

 Map of the Hike ( I could hike everyday if it were an option)

  Simply Amazing and Super Cold on the Lake

 View of Downtown Queenstown

 The Water is so Clear

Downtown Queenstown