Queenstown: Auckland and the flight in

Every time I go on a trip I feel the need to make sure everything in the house is perfect before I go. So instead of heading over to Auckland Friday night and partying I stayed on Waiheke so I could make sure my laundry was dry before I left.  I turn into an old woman more and more. I haven't even gone out on a Friday in ages.

The Boat to Auckland is always great. I was looking for dolphins the whole time. But I didn't see any. It's pretty rare.

I checked into Base camp backpackers and discovered there was an Indian light festival! I was stoked. These little surprises on trips make me so happy.


People were wearing bindis,saris, Sherwani, pajama, and turbans were everywhere.

On the street in little tents they were selling Indian merchandise, like what you see in a store in the states. Things like Mirrored elephants, mosquito nets, Overly elaborate saris and dress.  There was also Henna tattoo booths and food booths.




The main event, at that time, were the Dancing routines done by the local radio station. There were full grown women and little girls dancing bali wood routines. It was fabulous. I couldn't see that well because I'm short and there were also a lot of turbans in the crowd. I was amused by all the different colors. I have mostly seen black turbans. I was also surprised by the Huge punjabi representation. The kiwi radio guy did a shout out and I would say 60-70% of the crowd cheered.

My favorite part of the festival happened off stage. Some Indian teens started dancing in the street to Indian hip hop. It was quite catchy and the kids acting like a bunch of fools always makes me smile.

After I had my fill of nostalgia I went in search for artisan gelato that my friend had recommended. I found the place Giapo.  It was as amazing as she said. Each ice cream is hand made, daily. The choices also change daily. I got a chocolate mouse with little bits of caramelized sugar topped with coco, nuts, dried raspberries and more mousse. It was divine.

I went to bed semi-early because I had to wake up at five. The ladies I was sharing my room with woke me up around midnight.  Oh hostels! One was quite talkative in her drunkenness. Nice girls. We had a stowaway that night in the room. One of the girls was too drunk to drive, so one of the tiny beds would be accommodating two. I gave them a heads up that I was leaving at 5 AM and the extra lady could occupy my bed after if she wanted. As soon as I shut the door at 5:10 I heard one of the ladies move. Good for her.

While waiting for the bus a local lady asked for change. I asked why. She said for the bus fare and I gave her change. Later she confided that she was going to countdown to buy wine and she does this often. It made me chuckle. The lady was A jolly lady, no harm in a little wine.

Getting to the Airport was quicker than expected. I didn't have or need my ticket (smartphones are amazing things), there were no lines, they didn't even check my ID, I didn't need to take anything out of my bag, and I could take my coffee through. This is one if the most amazing airport experiences I have ever had.

Dude, I love New Zealand Air. Not only is it one if the nicer airlines I have been on, but their paraphernalia is awesome. The tunnel walkway thingy has a giant mural of all hobbit and LOTR things. The flight safety video was a hoot as well. The last flight safety video I watched with Air New Zealand had an elf and LOTR theme, this one had an adventure seeking crazy kiwi. I love creativity when it comes to things that are usually boring. You should check out all their flight safety videos. It quite entertaining.

the mural entering the plane

LOTR flight safety video

Bear Grylls flight safety video

Queens town landing 9AM. No couch surfer in sight, but this was expected. Who wants to wake up early on a Sunday morning? I took the Bus to town and had a walk around.  Queenstown is a cozy little town, so the walk didn't take too long.  It was super warm, too warm for all my layers. I wandered down to the water, watched the steam ship TSS Earnslaw depart then decided to find the Gardens. It was a beautiful and peaceful walk.

After lunch my Couch surfer surfaces. The walk to his house took longer than what google maps said, but that's to be expected when it's all up hill. These types of things make me realize how out of shape I am. After Walking up 1/2 a mountain to his house I learn there are shortcuts when we go back into town. Thank goodness. Anything to make that walk shorter.

The view at my couchsurfer's house.

My host was super nice. A Vietnamese guy that has been in Queenstown for two years.  We chilled, chated and had coffee with his Italian neighbor.  We headed into town after that and had Breakfast/lunch for my host and I had a milkshake. We decided on a movie, but it didn't start until way later do we played pool first. It's hard to think I used to be good at this game. But that was five or six years ago, when it was my life. Regardless I had fun and won often because the eight got sunk when it shouldn't have.  The movie we saw, Let's Be Cops, was amazingly funny. I usually don't like slapstick humor, but this suited the day.

Time to sleep before Milford Sound.