Last stop of New Zealand… Queenstown!

We arrive and set up at the youth hostel centrally located on the main street.  
Cute place with an incredible view of the mountain range appropriately named “The Remarkables”.

Here’s our room and our other new roomie Steph.  She’s a down to earth, spunky Canadian with an approachable personality. Short and sweet visit with her, but definitely many smiles. Safe travels my friend! 

Kitchen and lounge area with a balcony.

This pic was taken standing on the balcony.

I haven’t been doing a great job mentioning how common recycling is here. In fact, it’s harder to find a rubbish bin than it is to have a compost place and/or a section like this.

Ever since I got to New Zealand, I’ve been told that I have to go to “Fergburgers” , an extremely popular joint that only provides burgers and sides. Well, I haven’t had a hamburger in years and Erica had also heard of this amazing place so as she said “When in Rome…”. 

When we arrived I was impressed by the menu which ranged quite a bit. Patties of beef, lamb, deer, fish, veggie or falafel. Every topping you can imagine and of course we had to get the chips (fries) too! 

After a meal like that, it was time to walk it off (or atleast a fry or two)and have a night out on the town.

We spent a whopping 20 min in each place (I think we were trying to hit every variety of age and genre of music possible in one evening.

We started at the nearest place called “Buffalo’s”. This is your popular, tourist, college age, rowdy crowd. They were giving $300 for a bikini contest prize… Did NOT go in! 
(But the picture was fun)

Then we found an adorable candle lit bar that drew us in with a live acoustic version of Green Day, “Time of your life”. We end up connecting with a retired Rugby League Pro and the group that was there with the band (of course).

What is that we hear? Finally good dance music… Is that you? 

Nope. That’s 16 yeatan dingstanding around wondering if it was too cool for school to dance. I tried to fit in…

Last try of the evening was a place that had a tiny sign out front that said “Open mic night”.  Perfect! Good crowd, local artist and a laid back vibe…

On the way back we stopped by the market for a snack and this is where we learned a new term. At least new to us. I was joking with Erica using the term “Dirty bird” (ask someone if you’ve never heard of that in the states) when two kiwis walk by and say “Oh, it’s right down that street, but don’t know if they’re still open”. We look at each other confused and they said “You’re talking about KFC right?” Turns out they call KFC “Dirty bird” and MCD’s “Mackers”.
We end up hanging out with these locals, Karl and Scott, and what a great connection! Extremely polite and hospitable. The next day Karl picked me up for lunch and a personal tour of Arrowtown, a cute town that is home of the historic Chinese village during the gold rush.


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We stopped by a local brewery for a taster and chat with the owner.

My last night there I was lucky enough to get an invite from my new Kiwi friends for dinner and a spare room. Woohoo! Laundry, dinner cooked for me, a hot shower, my own room and a ride to the airport in the morning… Thanks again Karl! No dramas

His place on the hill.

Front room and what you see while standing on the balcony.

Oh dear laundry, enjoy the view and the fresh mountain breeze!

…and view from the dinner table (I literally took this pic from the table)

Rise and shine! Off to the airport for my journey to Argentina.