Day 3ish to 6ish - Queenstown (1)

okaay...if you're not getting bored!

Queenstown was our favorite city in the entire country. As a disclaimer, for the sake of time and the purpose of our particular vacation, we didn't hit up Wellington (SF-like) or Christchurch which we hear are great places to be. Wellington for its Napa-like wineries/vineyards and fun cafes and nightlife and Christchurch for....hmmm...I can't remember. Can I get back to Queenstown? No, literally, I'd love to go back. V.much what I'd imagine Aspen to be like in that it was extremely ski-town and had a ton of young, adventure seeking people of an eclectic mix. Although it's a pretty small town, here was so much to do, we definitely could've extended our stay here for a few more days (aka bungy-jumping for me maybe?). I fully enjoyed the capability of walking everywhere among the 8 - 10 square blocks, there seemed to be an abundance to great/creative places to dine, loads of pubs/bars, and isn't it always a good time when a majority of the people are on holiday? Lots of smiles, lots of simply happy/relaxed folks. Oh, and basically everyone was in sneakers, fleece, and wool hats. I liked that. No heels.

• Ate incredibly well - such yummy/yummy food here!
• Shotover Jet Boat on 4 inches of water through a rock canyon.
• Gondola'd up the side of a mountain.
• Luge'd down the other side of said mountain.
• Charter-cruise-Charter'd to Milford Sound (#1 on Kiwi must-do list).
  
• Watched Bourne Ultimatum (ok, maybe not an NZ specific activity)

Before I forget! Trish, Kiwi:NewZealand as Aussie:Australia and American:USA. Kiwis are little nocturnal birdies and yes, that's right. I enjoy typing in S.A.T. format.

View as we flew out of relatively warm Rotorua.

View as we flew into FREEZING temperatures in Queenstown. Snow??
Uh...I was already wearing like all the layers I brought.
FYI, Jamie bought long johns to put under his jeans w/in the first hr we were there.

Stayed at the Novotel here too.
The rooms in Rotorua and Queenstown were uber-modern and similar to
he Starwood-run WHotels, but Novotels are owned by Accor -
who run the Motel6 in the US! Wacky.

Obviously cold enough to run an ongoing fire in a clothing shoppe.

Spring skiiers...well, they were skiing earlier. i think.

And now the food:

Fergburger had the biggest sandwiches/burger EVER.
They're open until 5AM for those late nighters, literally had the best chicken burger I've ever had,
and when is often blogged about by those who want to take the whole place home with them.
Here's the menu. I had the Cock-a-doodle-doo.

Toasted banana bread with marmalade + passionfruit honey + marscapone.
My favorite meal @ my favorite restaurant (Vudu Cafe)!

Breakfast @Vudu Cafe! Pissed that I didn't get a pic of the actual restaurant.
Dev, you would've loved it! Such yummy combo muffins.

zoom in on this menu and check out them appetizers.

Hmmm...need to start a new post, I think.