Queenstown - we think we might get it now - Day 7

 Today started slow, the parents went to get their coffees again, while us cool fullas all had a sleep in. Groceries were eventually bought and breakfast was eventually eaten, cornflakes and yogurt. The plan was to go to Arrowtown and explore the restored historical chinese miner village. We left at about 11, and we were immediately stuck in traffic (woohoo!, we missed this). It did not matter too much though, as the view was stunning. The drive took about 40 mins past some lakes and past some very lego-looking houses.

Arriving at Arrowtown was interesting, my personal idea of the place was a hidden more secret town, but no, it was very, very, very busy place, and we struggled to find a carpark. We were immediately greeted with fluff, blowing from the poplar trees, which was muito annoying as it got everywhere. We had a quick stop in an art gallery before heading to the museum. The museum was pretty cool but it repeated the story we had heard throughout the South Island. Examples of the equipment used at the time were interactive, and we all enjoyed pulling and twisting stuff. It was very clear to see how tough mining was, both on the miners themselves, and for the rest of town, showing the different establishments created to make life bearable, such as a pub and a bakery. We all found the different ways to power the mines cool, especially seeing the first hydro-electric plant on Skippers Dam. We gave our best attempts at mandarin caligraphy, and Jonty was stuck on the pinball machine, before heading off to find lunch.

Plenty of Tourist shops

We settled on a turkish place, and the food was very delicious. Dad was in his pretty princess era with his pretty, flowery, crumpets whereas the rest of us settled with eggs, two with shakshuka, one with a kedgeree curry, and some poached eggs. We popped in to numerous stores for some stickers and patches before heading off the historical chinese miner village. The fluff continued to bother us, but we persevered, and struggled to get into small chinese huts, due to our genetics (thanks Dad). It was very cool to go inside, the floors were not flat, instead roughly flat, due to big stones on top of the ground. Ah Lum's store was the coolest and the floor plan on the sign outside allowed us to see where things happened. We were suprised to see how small the shop portion of his house actually was, as the bank and bedrooms took up most of the house. Some huts were built straight up against the rock face, and we all found these cool as the houses only had three walls.

Outside the shop

the low head height typical in the huts

out house with a view

Mum catching some quiet time

Our walk through the Chinese village ended and we all reflected on the colonial opression of the chinese population in New Zealand, as they were heavily encouraged to leave once the gold rush ended, being provided incentives from the government to return to China. We all left Arrowtown desiring ice cream, so we ended up going into Queenstown to walk around and find an ice cream. We walked along the lake, enjoying the vibe of the lakeside vendors and the water sports. The city was beautiful and we walked along the streets before getting cookies at the CookieTime store and getting real fruit ice cream from this funny british lady who lived in Hamilton, who Eliza struck up a conversation with. We headed back from here and fell asleep for a few hours before dinner. Dinner was a beef stir fry, made by mumma, which was very good. Plans for the evening were decided, and the boys settled on a hike up Queenstown hill, while Eliza went to hang out with a friend. 

The Hike was set to take about 2 hours and there was uncertainty regarding Dad's leg, but notheless (inspired by me), off we went. The walk was very pleasant, walking through pine bush as we went up. Along our journey we came upon a section of the hill covered in rock cairns made by the various people who went up. We were impressed by decorations of these cairns, such as a viking helmet, and stopped to take a few photos. The walk quickly left the bush, but as it did, rain drops started falling down, causing the already injured Dad and Jonty to abandon the rest of the climb. I stuck with it, and the climb got harder as continued. I arrived at the Basket of Dreams, took a few photos but decided they could be better, so off I went to the summit. The journey was tough, as the incline increased and footing became unsteady but I eventually got there, and met two englishmen at the top. The view was incredible, with panoramic views of the whole Queenstown area. I took a few photos but was preocupied with the thought of my Dad and brother who had started their descent. I ran down the hill and met them on a bench staring at some deer. We finished our walk and started the drive home, when we looked out the window and saw the incredible views of the sunset. We took a few photos but I was bit bummed I had left the summit before the sunset, as it would have looked much better. We all went home, and went to sleep, ready for the day ahead.