South Island – Christmas in Queenstown

Christmas Day dawned with a deep blue sky, not a breath of wind and it was already 21c by breakfast, it was going to be a stinking hot day with not a ripple on the lake.  There was just Rosie and The Operator to share the day together, nawwww.  Rosie went and did a load of washing while The Operator pulled the inside of the camper apart to get to the bottom of the leak and prepare a shopping list for repair materials for when the shops opened on Boxing Day.

Rosie sat in the sun and read, The Operator sat in the sun and had a beer or two, we had Xmas lunch and watched the rest of the world come to life after their Christmas lunch had digested. Crowds started to gather on the lake edge, canoes, sailing boats, jetskies and power boats were all sharing the lake. Dogs were bounding into the water after balls and kids were paddling.

This is the left to right view of the lakefront directly in front our campsite.  After rotating from shade to sun for a few times The Operator suggested we book a jet ride as he had seen the company boats going back and forth across the lake.  We booked a Thunder Jet ride for 4pm, Christmas is not sacred here in Queenstown when there are hundreds of tourists to entertain!

Thunder Jets were going to pick us up at the Frankton Marina at 4pm, it was only a 15 min walk around the corner of the bay so off we went.  This is the road front that the campsite is on, the lake is across the road.  Its nice to see that there are still small rustic baches having prime position on the lakefront.

 Rosie had a nervous toilet and then our boat bounced into view.  And then it did a three sixty right in front of us with the screams coming from passengers as loud as.

                           

There was something a little wrong with this scenario as the boat pulled up alongside the jetty…there were no empty seats!

 …an error had been made at the booking office…..sorry, we can get you on the next boat for an hour…Okay, Rosie said and tell them to save us two seats upfront!  It was a deal.  We lay under a tree and waited an hour….what else did we have to do, it was Christmas day and Rosie and The Operator are on holiday.

Then along came Neville, with two empty seats right up the front as per our request.  His MP3 is pumping the sounds through the speakers, AC/DC, Jimmy Barnes and the like, it fair got the blood pumping as he skimmed the canyon walls and took the most narrowest routes between trees and over areas where you thought there was going to be no water.  7 three sixty spins later, Rosie was feeling abit queasy, walking back to the camp Rosie was getting worse…..sunstroke?  Not sure, it felt like my head was spinning as if I had drunk to much….and Rosie hadnt even started her Christmas libations!  A good chunk of Yule Log later Rosie was feeling peachy again.  It was established we were going to stay another night here in Queenstown to get our repair under control and see some sights.

So,  Merry Christmas Everyone!