After breakfast we headed over to the city centre to have a look at the underwater observatory, the guide book said it was free, they actually charged NZ$5.00, being true backpackers we decided not to part with our money so had a wander around the lakeside. We saw people disembarking the steam powered TSS Earnslaw, this has been cruising the lake for 100 years now.
Afterwards we popped into Patagonia Chocolates to use the internet and for their hot chocolate, which is much talked about but not that good! O well at least the internet is fast and we got a lot of work completed! We decided to return to Fergburger, Sangeet had fries, I had falafel burger and onion rings, totally unhealthy but goooood!! We sat overlooking the lake and Sangeet ate her fries and I had a few onion rings, I decided to eat the rest at the hostel. We saw Tammy from the hostel walk by and invited her to join us. We all chatted for a while then I walked back to the hostel whilst Sangeet popped back into town to get some sunscreen and foot rescue for me….the hot weather has made my skin break, so much that it now hurts to walk!
Patagonia chocolates:
Old fashioned sweet shop
At the hostel the manager Cindy was looking at this blog and commented on the good work.
When Sangeet got back from town we drove to Glenorchy, a very small town, a complete opposite to the bustle of Queenstown. It is about 45 minutes away from Queenstown and the journey there is spectacular. After walking onto the jetty and talking to a French family who have been living in Papeete in French Polynesia, we wandered around the tiny little town and then walked over to Foxy’s Cafe where we both ordered a hot chocolate. Again I have had better!!
The drive to Glenorchy:
Glenorchy
Foxy’s cafe
We then drove to Kinloch, the only thing in this town was a small motel. I would definitely recommend this town, especially if you enjoy the peace and quiet and stunning lakeside views.
Drive to Kinloch
Untreated road
Kinloch
As it was getting late and the sun would soon be setting we headed back to Queenstown and to the supermarket called Freshchoice
Freshchoice
64 George Road
Queenstown
New Zealand
where we stocked up on a few items for this evening snacks, soup, crackers and Brie.
In the common room we (Tammy, Ruth, Sangeet and I) watched Bad Boys 2, a lighthearted movie. Earlier in the day, Sangeet asked Ruth what her favourite movie is, Ruth replied that she really enjoyed the French movie “The Intouchables”, I had never heard of it. Apparently it is a true story about how a paralysed man who employed a ‘nurse’ who showed no sympathy and brought so much richness to his life. It sounds like a good movie and we said we would keep an eye out for it.
As we were taking Marlene to Queenstown, we also asked Ruth if she would like to come, she said yes as she wants to spend a couple of weeks there.
Checkout at the hostel, like many others is 10am. We packed the bags but decided to relax in the common area until about 12. The owner is very relaxed and was happy for us to be there, he even left the hostel whilst we were there. This is such a laid back homely type of hostel.
Around 12:30 pm we left for Queenstown, we took state road 6 north. It is around 190km away so about a two hour journey. About one hour 15 minutes into our journey we saw the southernmost tip of Lake Wakatipu. The views are amazing, as if we were just viewing a picture.
The hostel has a very nice energy, another homely atmosphere, there are no dorms here, the biggest room has four beds. The view from the hostel overlooking Lake Wakatipu are great. The total number of occupants who can stay at any one time is 19. The manager Cindy does a fantastic job of making sure the hostel is smoothly run. At the time of writing this hostel is the number one BBH hostel in Queenstown.
As we were all very hungry we had a wander around the town centre looking for a place to eat, no restaurant stood out (unbelievable, there are no vegetarian restaurants here). We ended up at Fergburger:
Fergburger
42A Shotover Street
Queenstown
New Zealand
T: +64 3 441 1232
www.fergburger.com
The restaurant is open from 9am until 5am! Staff are knowledgable about the burger and sauce ingredients and can cater for all needs. Sangeet had a tofu burger, I had the falafel burger, with fries and onion rings. After eating a very unhealthy but tasty meal we had a wander around the city centre and along Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown is a touristy town, there is a lot going on, so different to Invercargill.
We had ice cream at
Patagonia Chocolates
Lakeside
50 Beach Street
Queenstown
New Zealand.
T: +64 3 442 9066
Pretty expensive, one scoop of ice cream costs NZ$5.00, they offer fast internet, the internet is only available from 9am until 8pm. The shop closes at 10pm so your best bet for a great coffee. Apparently, even the library here charges to use the internet!
Afterwards we walked back to the hostel, where some people had started watching a DVD…..not sure what it was called. It is very funny but with the majority of the backpackers being German / Chinese, Sangeet and I seemed to be the only ones laughing!
This morning I awoke early so I could get some money from the ATM and pay the hostel host when he arrived at 9am.
I found the nearest ANZ bank and took out some cash. Afterwards I went to McDonald’s which offer free wifi, so I paid NZ$3.40 for a coffee and logged on. The Internet was awfully slow so I had a wander to the library which offers free wifi and computer access, unfortunately it does not open until 9am. I headed back to the hostel annoyed that I paid NZ$3.40 for sloooooow Internet (when you are on a budget every cent counts!)
Later in the day Sangeet, Marlene, and I were sat in the common room chatting, well at first I was also chatting then I nodded off. When I awoke a couple of hours later they were still chatting. We talked about the meaning of life, death, love, Sikhi and the Sikh Gurus, karma, Christianity, it was an interesting afternoon of deep conversation!
Afterwards we went for a Chinese dinner at:
The Hong Kong restaurant
36 Esk Street
Invercargill
New Zealand
E: [email protected]
T: + 64 3 2188531
They have vegetarian and meat dishes but they are cooked separately, the starter of spring rolls was not nice the mains chilli tofu and vegetable with chilli and garlic sauce was very nice.
As we needed to use the internet, we walked to the library. As we walked we talked about our home towns. We invited Marlene to come and stay with us when she came to visit England. Marlene said “we have a small apartment so you cannot stay with us but you can come and have dinner”. We really appreciated her honesty and directness as it is very easy to make offers without backing it up. Marlene needed to get to Queenstown tomorrow and as she was unable to get a bus ticket we offered to take her…..our plans in New Zealand are very flexible as we first thought we would be WWOOFing for ten days.
We returned to the hostel which had more backpackers, mainly from Europe…..so now you had the people talking in French and the Germans did not understand…people talking in German and the French did not understand…..I did not understand any of it!
In some hostels we have noticed university students, they work and stay at the hostel whilst attending university. They would work around the hostel for 2 hours day and in return their accommodation is paid for. Also most do not like the student accommodation/life, for example drinking, messy accommodation.
In New Zealand some of the hostels are kept very clean, you could even say better then some hotels. In the morning the students would clean the showers and in some cases the rooms. Some hostels have a fantastic atmosphere where you would meet fellow like minded travellers.
Saying that you do get the opposite as well, where some hostels are just awful in this case you just stay the night and move on.
It also helps joining a hostel organisation, we are members of YHA, you get certain benefits the main one being £2/3 off a nights accommodation, does not sound like much but soon adds up!
Hi, thanks for visiting my blog, feel free and have a look around.Here is a bit about me, as you may or may not have guessed my name is Mandeep,I work to travel as opposed to work to pay bills and die!Every trip for me is an adventure, I have been very fortunate to stumble across amazing places and meet awesome people along the way.
Why gaygoat? When I first started this blog I was a vegetarian, so gaygoat – happy goat! Also you have to admit it is catchy and a URL you will not forget!
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