Q town

So Wanaka was awesome. In fact so awesome we decided to stay there a few extra days. It helped that the campsite was really cool with free hot tubs, saunas and DVD rental. So managed to add to my collection, even copying the "copy protected" DVDs to the laptop (Ssshhh, don't tell). The extra days we spent in Wanaka were very chilled. We had good weather so went for some walks along the Clutha river (one of NZs biggest) and hiked up to Diamond lake over by Glendhu bay. The lake was actually quite pathetic compared to Lake Wanaka, more like a pond than a lake. Pretty steep climb up to it but i decided to climb up this cliff as it promised me views out over Lake Wanaka. The climb was knackering! I mean proper heart pounding, sweat dripping, coronary inducing tiring! Got to the top and the view over the pond was rubbish. The view over lake wanaka was another 30 minutes climb so i decided to sack it after about another 10 minutes. Did manage to get a picture of a corner of the lake but decided to head back down to a waiting Kate.

Wanaka sure was amazing. I think we lucked out going there this time of year because the small resort was quiet and the autumn bloom on the trees contrasted amazingly with the blueness of the Lake and the sort of blueish tinge it gave to all the surrounding hills and mountains. It helped again that the weather was stunning with only the last day being overcast. No problem though as we watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I had seen it before and thought it was all a bit too poncey but this time it blew me away. Only because most of it was filmed around this area. Queenstown in particular boasts lots of locations that were used in the movies. You can even go on a Lord of the Rings tour, if you are a bit of a geek or a virgin!

We left Wanaka for the relatively short trip to Queenstown, or Q town as we have dubbed it. The journey was fine until we got just outside Q town and the road went all spastic! Proper hair pin turns up and down severe mountain slopes. I knew we were high up as i could see Kates white knuckles gripping the side of Biff every time we got remotely close to the edge of the road. Needless to say, Biff didn't enjoy it.

Queenstown is a lot bigger than Wanaka. They often get compared, i think because of there close proximity but they are very different towns. Well Q town officially must be a city as it has a Starbucks! It's a more alpine looking place. Wanaka is in the mountains but the town itself is relatively flat and most of the trees were birch, beech and horse chestnut. Q town is far from flat. The mountains seem to just drop straight into Lake Wakatipu and the town seems to be sort of perched on the side of them. The main street is the only flat part really. Our campsite is right at the base of Bobs peak, which is a small mountain that you can get a gondola (cable car) up to and get views out over town and the lake. We haven't had the time or the weather to venture up there yet. Our site is very modern and is edged by a huge pine forest which gives everything a sort of Canadian/Pacific northwest of America feel. Especially since it has rained near enough constantly for the 3 days we have been in Q town. It reminds me of Forks in the The Twilight movie (see it and definitely buy the soundtrack!). All misty and rainy. I can't really complain though as it's the only proper rain we have had since we've been in NZ.

I imagine we will get around to all the sightseeing/tourist stuff eventually but we are very occupied with house and job hunting at present as Q town is hopefully going to be our new home for the next 6 months. We have probably come here at the worst possible time really as it is a very quiet time of year and NZ, like the rest of the world, is in a recession. All good fun eh? That said, we have applied to 3 job agencies who all echoed our concerns about the lack of work and have applied to a few places where we saw vacancy signs. We also have sent our applications of to the ski resort of Coronet Peak but they don't start interviewing until May. I got a promising boost yesterday when i saw a help wanted sign in a camera shop in town. I dropped my CV off and filled out an application at 10.30 am and they called me in for an interview at 16.30! Pretty quick. The interview was very informal and went well. The manager of the store is a guy from Cornwall so hopefully i might get preference, being English. We chatted for a while about living in NZ and he seemed impressed with my knowledge of cameras and the fact that i own a Canon Powershot G10. He did have a huge stack of application forms on his desk though so i don't know if i will get it. On my way out of the store i stopped to have a look at the cameras they sold and saw mine there for £150 cheaper than the UK! I of course didn't pay full price for mine as i am a crafty sod who got £250 off the list price. Good old insurance company.

We also applied for jobs at a huge store called Warehouse. It's kinda like Wal Mart but they don't really sell food. I applied for the inward goods vacancy so technically i could be working in the warehouse of Warehouse! Again though, we'll see what happens. Kate also handed her CV into a company that run jet boat trips and do white water rafting which i hope she gets so i can get cheap white water rafting trips!

The house hunting venture seems a lot more amicable. The good thing about Q town is that it's pretty big and there is a lot of accommodation around at the moment. This will all be snapped up over the next few months as people descend here to work for the winter season. We went and saw a few places yesterday and was totally blown away by the first place we saw. It is out of town on the main road between Q town and Frankton. Over looks the lake and is fricking huge! It's a 2 bed place that is split over 4 levels with an open plan main area with the kitchen overlooking the living area (so Kate can throw me down beers!) and views of the lake. Cheap too at $300 a week. Well, cheap by UK standards. We have applied for it as they don't do a first come first served policy here. You have to provide references and sort of win the chance to live in the flat. Frustrating but hopefully we will get it. Keep them crossed people!

Kate thinks all the house hunting must have annoyed Biff as he decided to spring a leak the other night. From the vent above us where we sleep. He effectively wet the bed! It probably has more to do with the shit load of rain we have had. I have managed to stop the leak for now but can't get onto the roof to seal the gap until the rain bloody stops. Hopefully Biff will be fine. If he continues to wet the bed I'm sure I can get him some sort of nasal spray to help. Poor Biff, only 18 and already showing signs of incontinence!

So we might be off the radar for a little bit as we are busy trying to secure jobs and a place to live and hopefully meet lots of new friends. I'm all excited but anxious at the same time. I'll keep you posted.

Peace

D

xxxx