.........................................................After two fairly long days on the road, made it town to Queenstown for New Years Eve. Met up again with Eamon who I had met hanging with Pat in Wellington, and Pat's friend Sanford and his roommates Kai and Marin also rendezvous for the night of festivities. We hung out at Eamon's incredible apartment overlooking the Remarkables, drinking Speights and getting to know each other. Then we trekked down to town for a night of bar hopping and fireworks. Next day we hiked up to the gondola for a great view of the lake and mountains plus witnessed para gliders and bungee jumpers. Had a great time doing the land luge up there, as Eamon describes it, its the best buy in town, $10 for two thrilling rides. Sanford and his party took their leave the next day and Eamon and I decided to test our skills on the Shotover river with his two kayaks. To make a long story short, we made it about half of the 13 km before I had capsized 4 times and almost broke my hand on a rock. We decided to stow the kayaks in some bushes and climb out of the ravine back to the car. Easier said then done. I know it will be hard to believe, but the thorn bushes and brambles were straight out of a horror movie, thorns 4 inches long I tell ya. I had the wet suit on, so eventually, I just had to lower my head and bulldoze my way through when I could, but had to resort to creeping along on our belly's to get under the bushes for a long way. I won't lie, I thought it was going to be bye bye for Ethan for a while there, but after an hour and a half the slowest going ever we found the road, Thank God! What a beautiful sight! The hands still pretty swollen but I couldn't leave Queenstown without an extreme adventure. The next couple days Eamon and I did some just amazing day hikes, did some swimming in frigid lake waters, and did another night on the town. He was a great guide and host, best week yet on the journey. More pics at:
