A day off today, no van travel and no planned activities. Most of the group went off on their own adventures today; Queenstown is adventure capital of New Zealand and there are so many choices. Here is the birthplace of bungy jumping and commercial jet boating, and other adrenaline-fueled activities.
People have been drawn to the area starting with the early Maori, who came in search of Pounamu, which is a native greenstone, and the flightless Moa. The European settlers followed with their sights set on the fertile grazing land, but quickly discovered that gold ran in the rivers.
According to Maori legend, Queentown’s Lake Wakatipu was formed by Matau, an evil giant who kidnaped Manata, the beautiful daughter of a Maori Chief. Her rescuer, Matakauri destroyed Matau by fire, burning him while he lay asleep. Water from the rivers and the melting snow off the mountains filled the giant hole he left in the ground and formed the shape of Lake Wakatipu. Legend has it Matau’s heart still beats today, explaing the “tidal” rise and fall of Lake Wakatipu.
I took advantage of the shopping in Queenstown, having packed in a very limited and summer way, and finding the colder temps here requiring some additional layers. There was an outdoor market since it was Saturday, with craftsman all along the lake walk featuring merino wool and carvings and pottery. Stopped for fish ‘n chips at a new-ish truck recommended by one of our guides, and ran into a few of our group throughout the day. Also took care of some home business, did some laundry and then met a couple of other of our group for a nice dinner out. The sunsets here are incredible, and people gather along the lake front and celebrate as they do in many places with incredible sunsets. There was a guy making huge bubbles along the lake walk, which made rainbows in the setting sun. I walked along the lake and took some pics and marveled at the Remarkables mountain range as the sun reflected on them, and then on the “V” in the landscape as the sun slipped below and the sky lit up red and orange and blue and purple.
A busy day tomorrow as we head northwest to Lake Wanaka and some mountain biking and some more incredible sights.
Your photography gets better with each passing day, babe. Glad you had a relatively quiet day to rest, scrape off the crud and get bundled up!