On our first official full day of vacation we took in the gorgeous view from our AirBnB over breakfast. As our first lodging in New Zealand we weren't sure what to expect, yet it turned out to be very nice with a lovely view overlooking the city, water, and surrounding mountains. We spent most of the morning hiking up part of a mountain to a touristy area called Skyline Gondola where we stopped for a snack. It's a shame that there is so much global national company presence here -- there are some of the same fast food restaurants and music as we have at home.
Refueled, we continued hiking towards the Ben Lemond saddle.
View from AirBnB + Zach ready to hike!
View from Skyline Queenstown tourist spot
Hiking a bit higher up the mountain, enjoying some beautiful views, and seeing places where different groups in Queenstown volunteer to take care of the trail. It seems like it's a big part of civic life to maintain good hiking trails and take care of nature. Zach went on ahead and saw some wild goats up close (Emma saw from a distance).
View from Ben Lemond trail
Wild goat
After returning to the tourist center Zach drove a go cart, then we took a gondola ride down to the city.
Luge ride
Steep gondola down to the city of Queenstown
Ready for dinner, we walked to Pedro's House of Lamb where we met the namesake Pedro -- turns out he had lived in Renton (a city neighboring Seattle) working for Magic the Gathering and was also a former professional player! We brought the lamb and potatoes to a picnic table in a park overlooking the bay and ate leisurely.
View from our dinner picnic table
We walked around the small commercial area of Queenstown for a while, mostly restaurants, bars, and shopping. When we got back to the main square we saw an informal menorah lighting for the first night of Chanukah. Because it's summer, it was still bright for the late evening event.
After that we got some ice cream. Zach was disappointed in NZ's lack of chocolate chip cookie dough offering. Tuckered out from the hiking and walking, we took a cab home.
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