A Very Active Day

 Day 11 - Wednesday, Dec 31 – New Year’s Eve

We woke up to a beautiful morning (I know … it looks fake, but it is very real!) and a day planned with some fun activities. We took the short half-mile walk from our apartment to the gondola, which was called The Skyline. 

First was a gondola ride several thousand feet up a mountain to our zipline tour through the forested mountainside. It was the first time ziplining for Grandpa, but the Helfrichs had all done some version of this before. There were six lines snaking through the trees (mostly very large Douglas Firs imported from the US), and our group of seven was joined by a group of three. We got all harnessed, helmeted and instructed, and then we were off – one at a time. Carter, Ruby (she wanted to go first), Evan, Gordon, Monica, Barry, and Grandpa.

The first zip was relatively short and lower speed. Gordon was predictably tentative, but once he did the first zip he was good to go the rest of the way. On the second zip we were taught how to go upside down and then to right ourselves. This zip was a little longer and a little faster. This was to be the case for each subsequent line. With each line there was a new “challenge.” The third line challenge was to stand backward on the platform and just fall backward and allow the line to catch you and zoom you down the cable. Other challenges included going hands free or singing a song/screaming all the way. We all had tons of fun taking our turns getting hooked up to the cable and soaring through the trees from platform to platform. There was always a spectacular view of Queenstown, the lake and the Remarkable Mountains in the background. The whole course took a couple of hours to complete.

Barry inverted

 

Ruby inverted.

 

 Monica doing the fallback

  

 The view while cruising on a zipline.

We had to hike down the mountain for 20 minutes to get to the last platform, which Ruby was to small to do. So, Grandpa and Ruby got a ride down the rest of the mountain.

Once we were back down to the gondola station, we walked another half-mile down into the heart of Queenstown on the lake to have lunch and do some souvenir shopping. Lunch was at an excellent Mexican restaurant, Baja [Note: There is every type of national food/restaurant available.] We had a table with a view!

After souvenir shopping and buying one item form each of the 127 stores, we walked back up the hill to the gondola. We snagged some pictures of the view as we rode up.

Besides the zipline adventure at the top there was also a luge run. Now a luge is a small, 4-wheeled cart that you sit on. There is a 1-mile course that winds down the hillside of the mountain with lots of twists and turns. You control the speed with handlebars that steer and also brake as needed. We waited in a long line for this adventure, but it was well worth it! We raced down the course not once, but twice, testing out the two courses that were available. When a run is completed, there is a ski-lift-like chair that takes several people and three luges back up the hillside.

 

 

 

 

 

After our two rides (Note: Grandpa did his two rides as well!), we had a booked reservation for the Stratosfare restaurant at the gondola complex for 6PM. Now, it’s New Year’s Eve, and the place is crowded and in high demand, but our travel agent got us a “skip the line” reservation and we were the first to enter the restaurant for the 6PM setting (the first of the night). Our table was right at the window overlooking the Queenstown valley below (I know ... it looks fake, but it very real!). The restaurant is an all-you-can-eat buffet with an enormous selection of soups, salads, entrees/mains, and amazing desserts. Each meal comes with an adult cocktail and a kid mocktail. The food was outstanding! Not your ordinary buffet, but rather more of a gourmet buffet with chefs standing by to prepare/grill meats and seafoods to your liking. Wow! We had to give up our table by 7:30 for the next seating at the restaurant, but we were fully satisfied in every culinary way.

We took the gondola back down the mountain and walked to our apartment. We spent the evening relaxing and organizing our stuff (we were leaving Queenstown in the morning) as well as sneaking in a glass of wine/beer. We also were staying up for the big fireworks display from a large boat on Lake Wakatipu. When midnight arrived, we had the perfect vantage point for witnessing the colorful display of pyrotechnics. New Zealand is the second time zone past the International Data Line, so except for a few Polynesian islands (e.g., Kiritimati), we were among the first in the world to ring in the new year! Quite an honor, I must say.

 Ruby in awe of the fireworks.

 

Note: Daily total: 15,000+ steps; 49 flights of stairs!! Whew!! This Grandpa was worn out.

Shortly after midnight, it was off to bed.