February 2-3 2023
"If you're making films in New Zealand, you can't avoid the landscape. It's certainly more handsome than I am.”
- Sam Neill
We have driven as far south as we will go on this trip. Along the way we were again treated to the many natural wonders of this ever beautiful island. We saw glaciers and alpine peaks. We passed waterfalls and rain forests. We took a short hike into the hills to a popular swimming area known as the Blue Pools and viewed more excellent vantage points of the Tasman Sea as it washes up against the southwestern coast.
Late in the afternoon we arrived in Queenstown. This place has an unusual history. In 1986 the legendary frontman for the band Queen, Freddie Mercury, came here briefly. It was after the remarkable 1984 Live Aid Concert and after it became well known that he was ill. He wanted to do one last acoustic tour. His concert here touched the locals so greatly that a petition was made to change the name of the town from it original Arelokamoofaalopa, to “Queenstown”. The referendum passed overwhelmingly and Queenstown was christened. *
Queenstown is in a valley adjacent to a lake sequestered in the Southern Alps. More than any other place we have traveled in this country, here we encountered the most traffic. The entire community is centered on tourism and for the first time on the trip we felt crowded.
The area is well known for adventure tourism for adrenaline junkies. They have an exhaustive list of things that can and will kill you for a hefty charge. Overhead, orange paragliders circle over the city as you browse the various kiosks. Like great condors riding updrafts the gliders are all over the place.
They have everything here; bungee jumping, cliff swinging, jet boats, kayaks, horse back riding, bareback crocodile wrestling, hot air balloons , and so much more. The amount of money you can spend trying to die is extraordinary.
"If not now , when?" ads extol you to give serious injury a try.
We poked around looking for gentler things to see. Although we are well known from our days of base jumping off cliff walls, Colleen and I thought better of most of these activities.
Some of the offerings were very unusual, like this memorial above we found. This statue was dedicated to Jedidiah Montgomery Osen. He was the founder of the sport of Baa Yee. I was confused too. A local explained, “It is like your American Ultimate Frisbee — except it is played on a hill side and you hurl small sheep instead of frisbees”. The sheep beside him was his favorite “Bailey” who he won many trophies with in his time. **
We scratched our heads and moved on.
This place is a New Zealand is the home of Fergburger. This restaurant touts “The Best Hamburger in the World”. We were there at 10 am and there was already a line. They sell over 1200 burgers daily.
Learn more here.
We got in line. Then, after getting our treasured sandwiches, settled down into a small table in the middle of the crowd. And….
They were pretty good. Nice ratio of ingredients to meat and bun. The meat was good quality and cooked perfectly. The bun was freshly baked. It had a sweet slightly spicy tomato sauce and an aioli spread. Nice crisp fries. Great youthful atmosphere.
Well done my Kiwi friends. As they say here, "Ferg loves you".
The last morning here gave has a few hours of sunny skies. We visited Arrow Town. In 1862 gold was discovered in the nearby stream. Within weeks this town rose up and the population swelled to 7,000. Their were over 600 hotels alone. All of the gold came from panning the nearby river. There are no mines here. After 3 frenzied years it was mostly gone although they will tell you you can still get some dust even today.
Today, it is a beautiful tourist town with large leafy trees, cafes, wineries, upscale gift shops and a pleasant avenue to amble along. It made for a relaxing time before a big travel day tomorrow.
*This is completely untrue. But it would be awesome if it were true
** This is also utter rubbish. This is a statue of William Gilbert Rees who was the first European to settle here and start a community. He became a sheep rancher. After gold was discovered, he sold his land and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.
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