I know you’ve all been dying to know what it’s like to live in the Adventure Capital of the World, so wait no longer because you’re about to find out everything you ever wanted to know about little ol’ Queenstown New Zealand!When explorer Will Rees decided to start a farm off the shores of Lake Wakatipu (wa-ka-tep-ooh) in 1860, he probably couldn’t even dream that 150 years later the area would be the most visited tourist destination in the entire country. Thanks in part to a gold rush occurring in the area and the popularity of extreme sports readily available in and around town, Queenstown has grown and flourished, with costly living expenses to boot! Want to know what Queenstown looks like? Check out The Lord of the Rings Triology (filmed in and around QT), Willow (my favorite movie of all time, also filmed in Northern California), X-Men Origins (actor and hottie Hugh Jackman still exists on the local video store customer database), 10,000 BC (horrible movie, I know), and the stunning scenes of The Chronicals of Narnia series.
So what is it that I do in Middle Earth? Anything and everything that I don’t have to pay full price for! A typical week always holds an adventure or two. In the past few months I’ve been bungy-jumping, white-water rafting, jet-boating, paragliding, and down some of the gnarliest mountain bike trails the country has to offer. I’ve also been in the process of conquering my fears of dark bottomless water while swimming Moke Lake, Lake Hayes, and an occasional dip in the freezing Lake Wakatipu. Daily runs on the hilly trails along the lakes keep me sane whilst hikes and bike rides around town keep me in awe of the beauty I’m surrounded by.
Working part-time at four different jobs has kept me busy, mostly dealing with tourists. Since I’ve been living here for longer than 3 weeks, I’m officially considered a local and still can’t believe some of the things “tourists” say and do.
Favorite observations:
- Asian tourists taking pictures…of EVERYTHING.
- Asian tourists taking more pictures.
- The European man who insisted on wearing a wetsuit for his jetboat ride. (For those of you who have never been on a high-speed jetboat ride, the only contact with water is when the spray from 360-degree turns drizzles on you.)
- Foreigners coming in to buy shoes and then having near heart attacks when they realize the “cheapest” shoe available is $145.
- Americans crossing the street wherever they want and expecting traffic to stop (cars will only stop for pedestrians at zebra crossings, aka striped cross-walks)
- Explaining the menu to foreign customers with items like: flat white (espresso and milk), long black (espresso and water), kumara (sweet potatoes) filo (veggie filled pastry), bangers and mash (sausage and potatoes), capsicum (bell pepper), cuppa (tea or coffee), fizzy (soda), lemonade (sprite), chocolate fish (marshmallow covered fish), stubbie (bottle of beer) and tinnie (can of beer).
Favorite comments:
- “I’ve been on the website, so I obviously know more about this product than you do.” (No offense to my Pommy friends but Brits can be the snobbiest people ever!)
- “How far is it to 7-mile reserve?”
- “Will this rain-jacket keep me from getting wet when it rains?”
(and my favorite)
- “When you take the cruise on the lake, when is the best time to see the dolphins?”
Ah the joys of living in a town where 4 in every 5 people you come into contact with are from another country! As i've previously mentioned, living in Queenstown isn’t cheap either. Gas prices are the highest you will find in the country (at a measly $6.00 a gallon), monthly grocery bills on a budget hover near $400, at the bar an “inexpensive” beer costs $7.00 (whilst buying a 6-pack of the cheap stuff at the market will only run you about $14), the “early bird special” season pass for the nearby ski field (smaller than Boreal) has jumped to $799, and rent per week for a bedroom 15-minutes from town costs $120-$250. It’s insane that I’ve been able to save any money at all since moving here!
I guess if it were economical to live here the town would be over-run. Living in the most expensive place in the country (which has one of the most expensive economies in the world) has its drawbacks, but you can’t put a price on being able to bike, skydive, boat, raft, bungy, hike, swim, ski, kayak, paraglide, skate, helicopter, cruise, snowboard, horse ride, paintball, golf, abseil, base-jump, zipline, off-road, disc-golf, luge, fish, or run after work!
-Ashley
Fun Fact: When watching the Olympics over the next few weeks check out my mate Mitchey Greig in the newly added event of skier-cross. One of ten NZ winter Olympians, Mitchey is a Queenstown native and one of the craziest chicks I’ve ever met!
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