Queenstown and Milford Sound

When we arrived in Queenstown we all had a group dinner at an Indian restaurant and then went out for some Karaoke at the Irish girls' insistence.  I have to say everyone had a pretty good time and we found a few of the boys could sing pretty well in Evan and James. The latter of which was strangely good at dancing while singing, hinting at some serious practice in front of the mirror.  I'm a terrible singer, but I rocked some Muse - can't take my eyes off of you, Third eye blind - semi-charmed life, and some Strokes - Last Nite.  We were most definitely the only people in the bar, other than a few brief moments when two dudes rolled in wearing plain white ts, complete with pit stains. It was everything I wanted in a karaoke night.

On our last day together, the boys (James, both Dans, Mikkel, 2nd Rick from the Netherlands, and Seanalicious [that's me!]) went up to the Gondola and did 5 rounds of luging, which is kind of like individualized bobsledding.  I'm Asian, ergo a naturally terrible driver, thus I lost every race and also crashed my cart going full speed through the slowdown turns.  After getting my ass handed to me by James and Mikkel, we dined at the legendary Fergburger, which is said to house one of the tastiest burgers in the world.  They were tasty, well portioned, made with high quality ingredients, and I ate there three times in 7 days. However, I can only rate Fergburger as high as an 8.  My quest for the perfect burger continues...

The top of the hill houses the Gondola

Taking the ride to the top of the luging area

Probably the most scenic town I've been to

The legendary Fergburger, twas so massive it felt like you were doing a biceps curl  every time you brought it up for a bite

That night we went out to a few bars to celebrate our last night together, because friends never enjoy life as good as when they abuse it.  

As I walked into a bar called Cowboys, I saw her, glistening beneath the bar lights, destined to be danced with.  Her top, wet from what I can only assume was some spilt alcohol, only added to her intrigue.  I could subconsciously feel my jeans tighten right at the penis as I started to see her move and I knew that I was going to ride her hard into the wee hours of the morning.  With those tassels and stirrups and a mechanical body that made you say, "giddy up", there was no looking away.  As I entered her Arena, I pushed my nervousness aside and made my move.  I slowly slid my thighs around her, while moving my hand up her body and gripping the back of her neck, our figures intertwined.  Tonight, was a night meant for glory.  Twas a night for youth and young manhood, it was time for me to ride the mechanical bull.

I'm not sure how long I stayed on, but I'm pretty sure it was longer than any of the other guys.  My thighs were bruised for weeks after riding that bull, but it was worth every second.  The ladies, not impressed enough to take me home with them, headed back to the hostel for sleep, and then it was just the boys: Mikkel, James, the Dans, and myself. We ended up going to a dance club, with British Dan buying a round of Jager Bombs and beers, right as the bar was closing.  Those bastards should have told us the bar was closing, uncool.  But eventually morning came and it was time for the group to disband as teams Canada, Germany, and Denmark moved on.  

View from the park

Queenstown is basically an amalgamation of the best views in New Zealand

$13 for generic contact solution....That kind of money will buy me a suit in Thailand. C'mon!

It's always sad to see people go, because the best memories from my travels stem not from the places I've been, but rather the people I've met. It's a pretty weird feeling to look into someone's eyes and wonder if you'll see them again or if that time was the very last...  Meh, they'll come find me when I'm still rich and way more famous.

James and I fought through our tears the next day and ended up playing some miniature golf.  Did team USA win? Did I tie the record for the lowest score an American has ever posted with a 53?  Yes and yes, bitches!  The next day we played the local game of choice, Frolf aka Frisbee Golf.  Christina was also keen to join us.  Now I think we all know I'm good at throwing ninja stars, swords, and all sorts of other things overhand, but the frisbee requires a side throw, which quite frankly requires the opposite set of skills that millennia of evolution have groomed me for.  Christina is a woman, so she clearly wasn't going to win.  Thus James ended up winning by a pretty large margin, a final victory before he had to head off to Australia and eventually Ireland.

No skyscrapers in Queenstown, it's only a town of about 15,000

Ducks hanging out on the river edge

I could live here if I wasn't so poor...maybe i shouldn't have retired so early

Our numbers were dwindling, but a few people from our bus that had stayed behind at Franz Josef had finally caught up with us, so I had more people to hang with.  After a few days of roaming around Queenstown, soaking up the views, cruising the lake with Donkey Dick Rik, and making a timelapse for my collection, I made a day trip to Milford Sound, which is known as being one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand.  While I went to Milford, I left my GoPro behind with Lucy since she was doing the Nevis bungy that day.  My only rule for the GoPro is that whoever is doing the funnest activity gets it, because cameras capture the moment, so why not make sure it captures the best ones?   Besides, I still had my Canon 7D to take plenty of photos and even the path to Milford Sound housed amazing views.

After seeing so much of NZ this view just seems so ordinary

The most impressive mirror lake I saw... It truly is amazing

The water in this stream is so clean you can drink it

Refreshing!  It was ice cold and delicious

I stood outside this chasm dressed like Gandalf with a sign reading, "Gigalowe for hire, Orc Chasms up ahead"...  I was asked to leave the premises and never return

Portrait of a Kea

Milford Sound is amazing.  From the first time you walk out to the dock and see the mountains climbing into the sky, you can tell this place is special.  It's teeming with life; Birds in the sky, trees lining the mountains, and penguins, dolphins, and seals filling it's waters.  As you get on the boat and start making your way through it, you can't help but feel like you're in Avatar or some sort of dream world, because the world just can't be that beautiful, but it is.  I took 400 photos on my Milford trip, so prepare to be overloaded :).

Initial view from the docks

One of the many waterfalls gushing forth

The speedboat at the bottom gives you an idea of how massive the peaks are

I'm so pale that my body is reflecting sunlight at a higher albedo than snow. 

Such a peaceful, tranquil place

Snow covered mountain peeking through the clouds

If I ever make it back, I'm definitely going to attempt a hike through here

So amazing!

Yet another waterfall

I messed up my camera settings on this photo, so it's kind of whited out - my bad!... but I love the seal lying flat at the top of the rock, it's like a poster for giving up

I was hoping to see more dolphins, penguins, and seals, but it wasn't in the cards...maybe next time!

Since I went during winter, the mountains were snowy

It's really weird how the hills dip right below the mountains, quite stunning

For my last night in Queenstown, I met up with some of the members of my original Stray crew that stayed behind in Wellington.  One of the guys on their bus, American Ben, was an awesome singer, so he was able to score gigs during his travels through New Zealand and happened to be playing in a brand new bar in Queenstown.  Inside da club, outside da club!  Part of me wishes I could have split my body in two and left one half to stay behind with some of my original crew in Wellington, cus I love me some Kerri, Ella, and Tom.   It was pretty evident they had an awesome time on their travels down and caught perfect weather, lucky buggers!  Everyone had an early night and I was once again forced to say my goodbyes, but I'm sure I'll see them all again when I make my way through Europe! #Europe2014 #shirtlessbackpacker #iamawesome 

The next leg of my journey was to join a bus full of strangers and make my way north back to Auckland, but that my friends is a story for another blog...

Random GoPros

Gondola ride

View of Queenstown from the Gondola

Queenstown is such a party town that even my GoPro was drunk 

Clear waters, blue skies, sunshine...can't complain 

The GoPro hadn't been in the water for a while and I was bored