Pictures by Elle, our "Budding" Photographer

Shotover Jet Boat

I love Elle's face in this picture. And I think this is a good look for us, don't you?

Justin claims this as one of the craziest things he has ever done in his life. And that's a pretty big statement! I have to concur that it was indeed a very crazy, scary, and thrilling experience. It's been a long time since I have screamed in terror, gasped, or had my heart stop in quite this way.

The Shotover Jet Boat is probably the most famous jet boat experience in New Zealand, so that's the one we chose, although there are hundreds of choices now across New Zealand. Jet Boat tourism is big business. I believe jet boating originated in New Zealand in the 60's, and within years became a huge tourist draw. There is no motor on a jet boat, just an internal propeller that allows the jet boats to operate in as little as 4 inches of water. Although, I swear at times we were skimming across no more than a trickle of water barely covering the rocks beneath.

We got a babysitter to accompany us and watch Liam, and Elle joined us on the boat (they allow ages 3 and over unbelievably). She looked terrified for the first 10 seconds but soon was into the thrill of it. The Shotover Jet boat operates in the Shotover River Canyon which is spectacularly beautiful, but that was really besides the point. We paid our money and put on life jackets and climbed into the boat. Once again, no one had us read any precautions, or sign any release forms. There were no seatbelts or restraints of any kind, just a handlebar in front of you and a picture that illustrated that we were to hold on during 360's.

I had looked into jet boating enough to know that we went really fast down a narrow canyon, and that we would zip along the surface in very shallow water. I also had read that the daredevil drivers do 360 turns and aim the boat at rocks only to turn away at the very last moment. Still, that did not prepare me for what these boats actually do. The drivers literally turned the boat with just a fraction of a second remaining before slamming headfirst or sideways into rockwalls. 360's were done in the smallest of spaces with the backend (where we were seated) ending perilously close to rocky outcroppings. If a head or hand was extended at any time, it would be torn clean off. We would aim directly for water with rocks protrouding out the surface and then somehow glide right over them. It was really an unbelievable ride. And once the fear alleviated a bit, a lot of fun! We all 3 had smiles plastered on our faces when we disembarked.

Not so Liam, apparently he was doing just fine with the sitter, and then on one of our passes by the docking area, he saw us in the boat and immediately freaked out. As if "there goes my family off on a boat without me!" It took him awhile to calm down once we got back. Poor, sweet guy.

It wasn't until after that we Googled "accidents on jet boats" and saw that there have been a few in Queenstown over the past few years. Still, they are rare, and jet boating despite how it feels is remarkably safe. Over 15 million jet boaters and a handful of deaths... Regardless, you do feel on the precipice at times.

Later that night, Justin and I got to have dinner alone downtown Queenstown, which was a nice treat. And Elle has another new favorite babysitter, so hopefully we'll get to do that again. (dinner, not the jet boating;)

Milford Sound- Wow!

See the how tiny the ship looks? It's not tiny.

Mirror Lake-

The reflection

Milford Sound is the most well known tourist destination in New Zealand, and I think with quite good reason. It's phenomenal. Milford Sound is one of the many fjords in Southern New Zealand that was formed by glaciers during the last ice age. The cliffs rise 4000 feet or more straight out of the water. The scenery from the water is breath-taking and it makes one feels Lilliputian in comparison.

We drove 4 hours from Queenstown to Milford, and then boarded a boat for a 2 hour cruise. The drive to Milford was incredibly impressive itself, and the landscape approaching Milford is among the most majestic I have ever seen. We stopped for a picnic en route, and just happened upon an isolated and glorious setting. I really don't think I could've dreamt up a more beautiful spot for a picnic.

We were quite fortunate getting a sunny day in Milford as it rains 90% of the time. It's actually considered one of the wettest places in the world. This rain helps to create the numerous waterfalls we saw, in every direction we looked.

We came across seals sunning themselves several times, but once again the dolphins evaded us. We also visited the underwater observatory to see the rare black coral that lives in the sound. It's actually white, and usually only grows at great depths, but due to features unique to Milford you can see it much shallower.

On the drive back to Queenstown, I was in awe at the number of sheep we passed. It's often joked that there are 100x as many sheep as people in New Zealand (the number is actually 10x as many). But in this remote part of NZ, I feel sure that we saw about 500x as many sheep as we did people. Also, we passed many cattle and deer farms (for venison, I presume).

Driving into Queenstown along a perilous cliff overlooking enormous Lake Wakitipu with the Remarkable Mountain range framing it, I found myself thinking that Pacific Coast Highway has nothing on Highway 6...

Puzzling World and Cinema Paradiso

We took a gorgeous hour long drive today to reach two very popular area attractions in the nearby town of Wanaka. Puzzling World and Cinema Paradiso.

First up, Puzzling World. They claim it's unlike any other place in the world, I have no idea about that, but it was a pretty cool little place. The main draw is their maze, and I have to say it was quite difficult. We went round and round, and finally about an hour later, we reached our goal. Elle was pretty enthralled with the maze. Inside, there is a room full of puzzles for you to solve. One could spend all day in this room exhausting their brain in order to figure these things out, it really wasn't just for kids. Also in this area, a gift shop (of course), and Elle left the area with the classic kids puzzler, a Rubiks Cube. Still another area was full of illusions, from halograms to mirrors, to tilted floors, following faces and much more. After a few hours, our minds were spent and we headed to Cinema Paradiso.

Cinema Paradiso, like Puzzling World, draws people from all over the globe when in this part of the New Zealand. I heard a minimum of 5 different languages while we were there. It's a theater unlike any I've been to before. They show first run movies in an old-time building. The theater is full of cozy sofas, chairs, floor cushions and even an old Beetle that you can watch from. The cafe attached serves whole meals, they looked quite good, and home-made ice creams, cookies, and more. They serve beer, wine, and have a full coffee bar as well. It's quite a production. In fact, while we were there, a film crew from the US was there to film a segment for their travel show. I forget the name of it...

We went specifically to see Avatar and were looking forward to it. Liam turned 6 months today, and apparently it is around this time that you can no longer take a baby to a movie. He was not having it! Elle and Justin watched the movie and I sat outside with Liam. Luckily, it wasn't a bad place to hang out. We ate Passionfruit ice cream (they have amazing ice cream in this country) and talked to the people coming in and out. Elle decided about 20 minutes before the movie ended that she had had enough and dragged daddy outside. So, although the theater was great, seeing the movie was not a success. I guess we'll just have to try it sans children next time.

The drive home was even more spectacular than the drive there, if that is possible.

Tomorrow, Milford Sound. It's going to be a long day!

Arrowtown

Saturday we headed to Queenstown's farmers market. Although it was beautiful when we arrived, the earlier rain had caused most of the farmers not to show.

Since we had no other plans we decided to head to nearby Arrowtown. Arrowtown is a well preserved historic gold mining town, only about 15 minutes from Queenstown. It's very tiny, and very cute, unfortunately it's also very touristed. The small main street was packed with tourists at noon (packed by New Zealand standards anyway), but when we returned at 530 for dinner, most shops were closed and nearly all tourists were gone.

Arrowtown has quite a few good restaurants, and I suspect we'll be back again.

Parasailing

Paragliding over Queenstown was maybe not as thrilling as bungy jumping would have been, but it was exhilerating. Justin kept the kids below and I rode the gondola to the top of the mountain. 10 minutes later without signing or reading a single release form and without any amount of explanation of the procedures, I was harnessed into the paraglide and directed to run forward as fast as I could directly off the side of the mountain. I took a moment to double check that I was securely strapped in and stepped forward. Within a few steps, the wind had picked up the parachute and we were in the air over Queenstown. It took my breath away for a moment, but then I was competely in awe of the views. We caught a thermal (air pocket) almost immediately and sailed even higher, almost 1000 feet higher than where we launched from. It was gorgeous but starting to get a little scary. I didn't think we were ever going to stop going up. On the way down the guide did a couple quick turns and spins, enough to induce minor and temporary queasiness on my part. Landing was quick and easy, it was obvious that my tandem guide had been doing this for 13 years!

Elle was schedule to do a boat parasail later in the day with daddy, (although she really wanted to do the paraglide) but it was cancelled because the wind picked up. Another day.

Our house and view