Queenstown

So today we flew from Auckland to Queenstown on the South Island. It was such a beautiful day that we decided to jump right in and use our gondola and luge passes that were open ended for one of our free days here. We were going to go another day, but it might rain later in the week, so we thought it best to make hay while the sun shined. The view from the top was soooooo amazing. Wait til you see it! We had a lot of fun racing down the luge tracks together and watching the people parasailing off the mountain. It was freaky how steep the gondola ride was, almost straight vertical. So steep that the platform for the bungy jump at the top only had to cantilever out about 15 ft or so. Couldn't PAY me to do that, no sir. Afterward, we headed back down and had some dinner. I'm still not so happy about the cost of eating out so much, but, *sigh*. I am trying to stuff my frugal self deep down in my psyche, and just enjoy the break from cooking. Anyhoo, after dinner we walked around town, window shopping and looking for icecream. We went in one shop where the employee was a young Japanese woman. E, of course, glomed right on to her and followed her and another Japanese couple around the store, listening to them speak Japanese to each other, seeing if she could understand them at all. She could, a bit. Then she started a conversation with the young woman about her impending trip to Tokyo and how she is learning Japanese. She tried out a few of the phrases she has learned and the woman was impressed with her accent. E was so stoked! She has asked many times tonight if we can go back to the store to see if she can find her new friend!

We got back on the search for ice cream and what do we find? Not one, but TWO couples from Alice Springs here on holiday in NZ, just walking down the street. Seriously, what are the odds! Found out from one of the husbands that the Milford Sound blew his mind and trumps the Grand Canyon by a mile. I'm so excited to go tomorrow for our Milford Sound cruise! Speaking of which, it is late and I have an early wakeup call, for our bus in the morning. Night!