Queenstown Walk-about
- Got up early enough that breakfast was not urgent, so thought we'd get into town, and find it there
- asked the concierge how long it took to walk into downtown, also back, and were told "about 10 minutes" but opted to take the city bus instead
- the hotel has a system of vouchers; your pick up two at the front desk, one takes you into Queenstown, the other brings you back (that somewhat makes up for the outrageous Internet access policy at this hotel)
- so waited, not too long, for a bus just across from the hotel, rode into town, and got off in a central location
- first impressions; Queenstown is very modern, there are not a lot of "old" - more than a few dozen years old - buildings
- those that are, are of the "heritage" type, architechturally significant, and inevitably well maintained
- another impression; this is indeed the sport, and adventure sport, capital of New Zealand - a lot of the businesses along the downtown streets are either booking offices for various activities, bungy (NZ spelling) jumping, jet boating, etc., or sell the equipment for hiking, mountaineering, skiing, etc., or sell upscale clothing for outdoor sports, or sell upscale foods and wines, or, are restaurants
- we quickly located one of the latter, and ordered breakfast, which was scaled to +200 lb. humans about to head out on one of the many physical adventures on offer, the result being that we felt no need throughout this day to find lunch - being quite happy to wait for supper on our dinner cruise
- after breakfast we wandered aroung downtown some more, and eventually found our way to the shores of Lake Wakatipu, a very lively area, with street artists, and more opportunities for sports such as jetboating
- also here was the wharf from which the TSS Earnslaw departs on cruises of the lake;
- TSS = twin screw ship
- meaning, as we learned later in the evening, when we embarked on this vessel, that Earnslaw was coal-fired, steam-driven, by two triple expansion piston steam engines, each driving a separate propellers
- noted the location, and how to get there, as this is where we would be departing from in the early evening
- kept wandering, and found our way to the Queenstown Gardens, a large peninsula jutting out opposite the downtown area
- we had a very pleasant walk around this large park; beautiful groomed gardens, areas with native trees and plants, water features, and even a skatepark, with ramps and obstacles and staircases, and a large sign prohibiting bikes, which did not discourage a yonug man from riding his extreme bike over and around everything
- also, a free indoors ice skating rink, the first we have seen so far
- by this time it was later afternoon, and we decided to walk back to the hotel, rather than taking the bus
- it was a a pleasant walk, but not the 10 minutes that the concierge at the hotel had told us it would be, more like 30 (if you hustled, it could probably be done in 20, but with some straining at the end, a fairly steep uphill path)
- freshened up, packed some fleecies in the pack packs, got another set of bus vouchers from the desk, and rode to the Earnslaw pier for
- we had pre-booked this, without actually knowing too much about it
- we boarded the Earnslaw with perhaps 250 others, and steamed up the lake, enjoying the views, and if so inclined the drinks, mostly beer, on offer from the bar (we were not so inclined, but enjoyed the views)
- Walter Peak eventually came into view, about 13 km down the lake, and we docked and disembarked (those who had dinner tickets, the others were simply going back to Queenstown)
- Walter Peak is described as a "sheep station" and it was probably that at one time, the home of a "run holder" who grazed thousands of sheep on the mountainside, and lived off the wool, the mutton and the lamb meat.
- today, it lives on tourism; it is not clear if there is still an owner, or if it simply a corporate tourist attraction (I suspect the latter)
- the buildings are immaculate, the grounds are impeccably landscaped, but the main attraction, towards we were encouraged to quickly go, was a very large dining room, seating perhaps 200
- we found a place, introduced ourselves to those at our table, and waited for instructions on what was to happen next
- a waiter showed up, sit brief instructions on how to get food; it was all buffett, there were appetizer, main course, and dessert stations, and we could go up at any time to get any of those, and there were no limits to how often one could go
- but first, did we care to order wine (extra cost over the pre-booked dinner) and he would recommend - naming a red and a white, at special prices (NZ$45 and NZ$40 - quite upscale given the prices one pays in stores
- A lesson or two learned about fine dining; never ask a waiter to recommend either food, or wine; inevitably they will push the stuff the kitchen wants to get rid of, and as for wine, they will push that, or the wine with the most profit margin
- we looked at the wine list (and none of the wines were anything we'd heard of), and, again, lessons learned, if you know none of the wines. do not order the most expensive, nor the 2nd most, nor the two on the bottom - all of which are positions to catch the unwary; go for the middle, and you are likely to get a decent wine at a decent price
- the food, all of it, was excellent, great variety, and, for buffet, very fresh (and so was the wine - not fresh, excellent)
- at some point, I went to use the washroom, got lost, and got to the bar serving area, noted a listing of the wine specials chalked up prominently, but also, a very discreet sign, where I probably shouldn't have noticed it, but I did and photograped it, saying "Try to promote the blackboard specials, as we have to get rid of old stock." - and the blackboard specials were those the waiter had pushed
- there you have the economics of wine in restaurants - best know what you are ordering, or,if it is all unfamiliar because you are abroad, stay away from the extremes of price (until of course the industry catches on to that, and loads the middle of the wine list with plonk at high price)
- after dinner, there was a sheep dog demonstration, quite entertaining, and a sheep shearing demonstration, not so much, as we had already seen one earlier in the trip
- back onto the Earnslaw, and the cruise back to Queenstown, in a bright moonlit night
- inside, there was a sing-along around a piano, mostly for those who also wanted to sample wares from the bar, but the real magic was outside
- a bright, almost full moon, shining on the lake, and illuminating the hillsides on the shores; in the distance, the light of the town
- when we docked, not that late at night, we decided to walk along the lake, back to our hotel, in the very pleasant, mild, later summer night
- back at the hotel, the usual personal maintenance, check e-mail via the cheap connection at the hotel down the hill, and posting blog stuff.
- tomorrow, more Queenstown exploration, but with a more "extreme" edge
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