Today we had a rest day and people scattered to different activities - a group to fly over Milford Sound and the fiords, Tim and Barb to the Shotover Jet boat and Annie and I took the Million Dollar Cruise (great value at $35) run by Wayne and Betty (since 1982). Wayne is captain, crew, deck hand and tour guide. Betty his wife remains on line and drums up trade for the next cruise.
Queenstown also came into being through gold. Following it's discovery in 1859, the local population of 14 shepherds looking after sheep on the only station in the valley swelled to 9000 and for 30 years Queenstown was wide and wild chasing the rich gold in the Shotover river. Then it was all over and about 200 people stayed on to mine the next source of wealth - the tourist!
Queenstown is unique - truly beautiful mountains, a deep glacial lake, and valley scoured and denuded by the last glacier 11000 years ago. There are no native trees here - little topsoil and too cold - so all trees are exotic with a hugh variety of conifers flourishing. Not all are welcome! The Douglas Fir, a self seeding and invasive species is rapidly clothing mountain slopes which are naturally treeless and there is now a program of spraying to eradicate it and return the slopes to the original condition - estimated to take 15 years. The Remarkables - mountains providing one of three local ski fields - dominate the landscape and demonstrate how the area will look if the program is succesful.
Queenstown is action heaven and offers every extreme sport - you can try anything at a price! Prices range from $85 to $500 for a day's adrenaline rush or more. Accomodation - back packers to 5 star, food from subway to michelin stars, and shopping to tempt most budgets. The permanent population of less than 40,000 swells in summer and winter - last year over 1 million tourists visited. Everyone is friendly, chatty and welcoming and very polite. And - the golf courses are fantastic!
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