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27/04/06 - 30/04/06 -
WELCOME TO MIDDLE-EARTH!
Ok, so I know that's the cheesiest name for a diary entry ever, but the last couple of days the weather has been really beautiful and I've done a couple of walks up the mountains - and by God it's beautiful!
And I know this is going to sound like the corniest, geekiest thing ever, but when you get on the paths away from the town, its like you leave Queenstown and enter Middle-Earth. Stop laughing. Every direction you look are mountains and lakes that were pieced together and used in the films. They look simply amazing and also have a fantastical quality too them as well.
On Friday I did a short 2 hour return walk up Queenstown Hill, which was great, but nothing compared to the walk I did on Saturday. I got the cable car up from Queenstown, and did a walk up Ben Lomond, a mountain peak facing over Queenstown. The great thing about the walks is there is NO ONE on them, and you have the whole place to yourself. The sky was so clear and you could just see for miles and miles, and in every direction were mountains as far as the eye could see.
The only problem was on the cable car up I realised my digital camera wasn't working, so I had to buy a disposable camera. Fortunately because of the good light the photos came out great, but it meant I couldn't be in any of the photos because it didn't have a timer.
It took about 2 1/2 hours to walk up the mountain. Towards the top the path was really steep and was covered in snow. There were foot prints I could follow, but when I got a few metres (height wise) from the peak, the foot prints stopped and the snow got a bit deep, so I decided to turn back. Considering I didn't have the right gear and was on my own it would have been stupid to carry on because I couldn't see where the path went.
Before I turned back I took lots of photos to be put together to give the complete panoramic view. On the way down I saw a few people starting to walk up, the first people I'd seen all day. Luckily this meant I could have someone to take my photo up there.
On Sunday I had a game of football with the guys, and it was without a doubt the most beautiful pitch I've ever played on (not because of the quality of the pitch, but all the mountains surrounding you). Met a guy who's staying here the same amount of time as me so we're gonna look for apartments.
Monday I'm gonna open a bank account and not rest until I have a job!!!
Next: The Lord Of The Rings Weekend
Previous: Arriving In Queenstown + Milford Sounds
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