queenstown...
As our tour of Milford Sound came to its conclusion the rain intensified and it was time to start the journey back to Queenstown. The drive back is just as interesting as the drive there, giving you the opportunity to experience all of the amazing sights from another perspective and in a later light. It's like one long oil painting, starting with the rough terrain of white and slate mountains, down through lush forests traced by turquoise rivers, along the golden plains of wind-swept tussock, through fields of fences and snow laden grass.
In the evening we arrived in Queenstown where finding accommodation wasn't as easy as you'd expect for a location which at any given time has more tourists than residents. Queenstown is pretty, sitting along one edge of Lake Wakatipu, but also extremely busy. Its tangled and ad hoc grid of narrow one-way streets and malls is alive with foot traffic, contained only by the ubiquitous array of pubs and stores primarily aimed at Generation Y tourists (and their wallets). Personally I think it's too busy.
During the day when most of the transient population are nursing hangovers and/or away at one of the several nearby ski resorts, the place doesn't seem that bad. You can hardly complain when you wake up to a view like this...
... and this ...
Known as the "Adventure Capital" (perhaps "Adrenalin Capital" would be more appropriate), the scenery is what I enjoyed the most. With The Remarkables cutting the sky on one side and the lake stretching out on the other, it's difficult not to be impressed.
