The first days...

As I arrive in Queenstown, it's quite apparent that any direction you look, there is a postcard in front of you. With my hiking boots in the foreground, here is the view from my hotel room.

It is early spring here, so there are fresh memories of a rather warm winter, as winters go in New Zealand. Apparently, the southern hemisphere - like we in the northern - have been experiencing shifts in climate, as I had heard in the taxi during the quick trip to the hotel. The Remarkables (top of the righthand picture), is the mountain range that faces Queenstown on the southeast side of town and is accurately named; I found myself glancing often in that direction so I could burn the view into my memory. Remarkable!

The rest of the group joining me are friends from Melbourne, Australia. I've never met three of them, but can't imagine that they aren't just my friends waiting to be friends. Once we are all checked in and have had a look around town, we find a nice place for dinner called DuxdeLux,











right off Lake Wakatipu - well, everything is right off Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. We order seafood platters, calamari, Greek salad and a crispy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I'm so excited by meeting my travel partners and all the dishes coming to our table and those around us that I find it hard not to stare with a delighted smile (and maybe it was jet lag). They manage to get me out of the restaurant without incident. We have a big day planned tomorrow so we hike up the hill to our lodge and settle in.

Not ever having had a jetboat ride through canyons, we strike out after breakfast for the Powershot River. Some in our group want the thrill of speeding through jagged canyons within centimetres of disaster. They eagerly sit to listen to Ollie give instructions as they settle in to speed through this breathtaking river canyon. I'm not going to show you Ollie because he was only really memorable to one in our group and she will remain unnamed. (As will everyone...)

There were jetboats going across Lake Wakatipu each morning by 8 a.m. and then all throughout the day. I had to wonder when there would be a time that residents would request noise reduction - the boats were really loud! I guess the cost of development and popularity can get a little noisy, and there's no denying the thrill of a 360 degree turn in the middle of jagged rocks at good speed. The jetboat participants were all exhilarated by the experience and the smiles were not coming off for the rest of the trip.