I must say...the travel for this trip was, without a doubt, the easiest thing we've ever done! Aside from having to cram everything into tiny backpacks to avoid checking a bag, getting through the airport and onto our flights was extremely smooth. To start with...we just walked up to the kiosk and printed out our boarding passes (without showing anyone our IDs), walked through security (where we didn't have to take off our shoes or jackets or take out our liquids), and went straight to the gate.
The flight was only about 1.5 hours and we got to see some incredible views of what they call the Southern Alps...
We took a shuttle to our hotel...which was...umm...interesting, at best. But it was just a place to shower and sleep so it ended up being fine. We dropped off our stuff and took the bus into downtown before walking up to the gondola ride. The mountain that we went up was slightly intimidating, but the ride up to the top was nice and very scenic.
We got to the top and had lunch and enjoyed the views. Then it was on to the LUGE! It was up just a little further than the restaurant and they had 2 different tracks to choose from...you had to do the easy on the first time, but we all opted for the harder track the second time around. Definitely a very fun excursion with some stunning views!
Afterwards, we walked around town and did some shopping before grabbing an early dinner. Drew wasn't hungry when we ate, so he grabbed Subway to take back to the hotel and finally got to have a turkey sandwich--oh happy day!!
The next morning, we walked down from our hotel into downtown and checked out the open air market they had going on. We tried to hold out as long as possible, but around 11am we headed to a crowd-favorite for lunch...Fergberger. (Some local friends here in Auckland suggested this to us so we figured we had to try it!) We were not disappointed! Holy cow, those cheeseburgers were giant and delicious (cow pun totally intended.)
After that, we walked around a little bit more and then geared up for our jet boat ride! These jet boats go up to about 75 MPH and they do tons of twists and turns and fast curves. Luckily, they gave us giant ponchos to cover up with so we didn't get completely soaked...however, they didn't do much to help with the giant waves that we encountered coming back into the port. One girl on the boat said she wasn't feeling well, so the driver took it easy on the ride home...but after the waves, we were all left feeling a little queasy. Highlight: we got to see Mordor (which...for those of you who don't know...is the giant mountain in the Lord of the Rings movies.)
Sunday morning, we woke up and checked out of the hotel and headed into downtown one last time. We went for breakfast at Johnny Barr's Sandwich Shop and all got the best breakfast burritos ever! Then we headed back to the airport where check-in was even easier (if that's possible) and they actually had free WiFi in the airport...go figure! We got to Skype with some family members during that time and then headed back to Auckland just in time for the heavy rains to set in in Queenstown.It was definitely a fun weekend getaway and we're glad that Maggie got to see some other parts of New Zealand during her time here. Queenstown is such a cute little town and would be a great place to go for a ski weekend...maybe next year!
Maggie and I spent the last 2 days just messing around Auckland and visiting some last-minute stops. She is now on her way home...although she's only about 16 hours into her journey home! We're praying for her safe journey home and now we are on to preparing for our next visitors...my parents!!!
Cheers!
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