Floating Tin Foil Boat

Ticket No. 95-A discovery (No. 5) of the South Island of New Zealand. Ticket No. 94

- 27 December 2010 to January 17, 2011 -


Part 5 - A Wanaka and Queenstown ...

By Barbara

We arrive at Queenstown , "the world capital of extreme sports," Jan. 12. This little town boasts a spectacular natural environment. The site is surrounded by jagged peaks, and the lake provides all water activities. Today , Queenstown essentially lives of its tourists from the 4 corners of the world. Chamonix is the New Zealander.

We will stay two nights at Sylvia and Roger met at a previous hike, which, like the warm and hospitable to kiwifruit own, we invite them in naturally.

Oliver has a bad weakness for beautiful NZ trucks ... He would get one like that. With a John Deere tractor, so I think. The railway network is quite feeble considering the geography, trucks therefore provide the majority of goods transport within the country.

Two Olives .... Nice (and muscle) as a truck ... of course!

Wandering in a motorhome in New Zealand is a favorite activity of tourists. There are all types of vehicles for this, according to the budget and age of occupants. The rental companies are numerous, and company vehicles are quickly recognizable Wickedcampers because slogans inscribed on their bodies, humor n kiwi ...

Queenstown, a city of extreme ... we play the game and it offers an outlet in Shotover Jet! These powerful boats have tousled red for 30 minutes in the magnificent Shotover River canyon at a speed of 85 km / h. What scared, it touches the cliffs and the driver takes a perverse pleasure in doing spins with his machine diabolical. Thrills guaranteed! Even the Captain is also failing, but he wanted to do it!

Luckily, we're just all 4 with the driver in the Shotover Jet, you can yell at will ... (Two engines Buick turbocharged 3.8-liter V6 for 520 hp, coupled to two Hamilton turbines from 760 liters of water per second, Olivier ... dixit).

The sensations of speed and glide are impressive. The craft passes through 10 cm of water ...

The bistros abound in the town of Queenstown and after a day of great emotion, we take pleasure in a beer terrace.

My friend Emma loves the thrill! His temperament go-getter, to swing and sport leads us to discover a new work made in Queenstown downhill track and track (trail) ATV

... I confess that I had to do some violence to follow suit ... moderately comfortable on this ... biclou

Contact Glenorchy from Queenstown, it takes a particularly beautiful drive along the lake in the background, Mount Aspiring.

Glenorchy is a tiny village known for being the gateway to the great rides in southern New Zealand.

From left to right, our friends Roger and Sylvia that we are hosting in Queenstown, and Emmanuelle Olivier from France we find, and Olivier (the Captain).

Typical landscape of the South Island: sheep and snowy peaks.

The Village of Cromwell at the confluence of two rivers, gold, dates from the second half of the nineteenth century, when gold was found in the Clutha River and Kawarau River.

The original village was engulfed by the Clyde Dam. Old Cromwell was rebuilt exactly as some 40 meters above the original site. We meandered between the old period buildings of stone, wood or sheet metal.

" Shrek is the sheep (Merino breed) most famous of New Zealand. There are, however, some 42 million ... After escaping from his vast yet Otago paddock in 1998, Shrek has chosen to live as a hermit for six years in the mountains, thereby avoiding mowing. Shrek the chosen day, a little forced, to return to the man: April 15, 2004, he was captured near the caves where he hid. And April 28, he was clipped by the farmer NZ champion of specialty, national television. Shrek was 27 kg of wool, usually against 4.5 kg. Shrek even met the Prime Minister at the time, Helen Clark!

pub sign at the roadside in Central Otago.

The tussock: a very tough native grass that forms clumps of beautiful yellow-orange. Typical landscape south of Lake Taupo.

Lake Tekapo, in the heart of the Mackenzie Country, surrounded by snowy mountains and plains covered with tussock.

You can not resist the urge to climb onto the roof of the Land Rover (usually a family) ...

back south to Christchurch by road No. 1, we stop for a coffee in the shade of a Douglas DC 3!