Day 30: The Internationally Renowned Fergburger

Today started quite early - 4:45am. I woke up at this time and proceeded to take a quick shower and pack last minute items in my bag before heading downstairs at 5:15am to meet the group. Today is the beginning of 3 free days!! The entire group is flying down to Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand! We called 2 maxi taxis and they were waiting on us at exactly 5:15am.

I loved getting an early start on the day, but honestly I had no desire to deal with JetStar this early. Thankfully I had about a 30 minute ride and a shake to ready myself mentally for my fourth encounter with JetStar. We arrived at the airport around 6:00am and proceeded to the JetStar check-in counter. I handed the lady my passport and a hand written flight number and then I set my backpack down on the scales. My backpack came in under the 20kg I had paid for (Woohoo!) and everything ran smoothly for the first time in my life at the JetStar check-in counter. (Saweet!!!)

We mingled around our gate (which was quite cozy and small) for over an hour waiting for our 8:00am flight. Thankfully the Auckland Airport had 3 computers supplied with free internet and I was able to check facebook and ESPN while I waited for Brittany to get out of class so we could have devo. (No idea what communication looks like in Queenstown...) We managed to finish our devo over the phone just before I had to board the plane.

The flight to Queenstown provided the best view I've ever experienced from an airplane window. The view started off cloudy, but even still there were mountains growing out of the tops of the clouds and even a HUGE volcano! Once we got over the South Island the clouds cleared and left a spectacular view of God's creation. I'm not sure if cameras apply to the "turn all electronics off" policy, but I decided it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. (Turned out not to be a problem or I am sure the JetStar the flight attendants would have recited their memorized lines to ask me to put it away.) Here are the awesome shots I took from my window seat:

If you look closely, you can see mountains in the distance above the clouds. Volcano on the far left?

The pilot came over the speaker system to point out this volcano!

Shoreline of the South Island

The South Island!

Landing in Queenstown!

We picked up our bags from baggage claim at the Queenstown Airport and caught a taxi that fit exactly 11 people (The size of our group after 4 Environmental Design folks stayed in Auckland at a beach house.) The taxi driver told us about all the neat things to do in Queenstown and it took him almost the entire drive to cover the basics. Among the features of the town include bunjy jumping, skydiving, the luge, jet boating, horseback riding, winery tours, canyon tours, motorbiking down the mountain, walking trails, tons of restaurants, tours for the Lord of the Rings movie locations (a good bit of the movie was filmed here!), and countless other fun things to do!

Our driver dropped us off at the hostel and we went inside to take care of our boarding situation first. I was not particularly excited about staying in a hostel, but this one is rated as the best in this part of the world, if not the world. We arrived too early to go up to our rooms, so we all stowed our bags in a closet in the hall. Slightly unnerved about my things not being locked up, we headed outside in search of some lunch. Some folks stopped at a place known as "Bob's," but myself and a few other folks walked down to a place called Fergburger. None of us had ever heard of the place, but a good burger sounded great. After I ordered I started looking around the walls of the burger joint and it was fairly obvious that this place is world-renowned for its burgers. (Except the southern United States - I've never heard of the place. Then again, it's especially hard for any news about beef in other parts of the world to make its way across the Texas border.) The burger looked massive, but the "massive" look was due mostly to the buns. The actual meat patty was large though and plenty of fresh ingredients were used, too. Perhaps the best ingredient was the sweet chili sauce. I don't know what the meat actually tasted like, but the sweet chili sauce was incredible. (Sweet chili sauce could probably make a terd tasty.) Here's a picture of the burger:

The Internationally Renowned Fergburger

As you can observe in the picture, the only thing wrong with this meal is the drink. I bet Fergburger could double their annual sales if they offered Dr. Pepper as a beverage. Needless to say, if Fergburger wanted to stand a chance in Texas, they would need to sign a contract with DP. The burger though was pretty darn tasty!

After a great lunch we headed back to the hostel to try and book an activity for the afternoon. Andrew, Jason, and Emily were first to experience the rush. They wanted to go jet boating and when they inquired about a trip, there was one leaving immediately. In a matter of seconds, the hostel manager called the jet boating company and asked if they had room for 3 more. The answer was "Yes, hurry!" The three amigos took off down the street to catch the bus - payment would be dealt with later. The remaining 8 of us took a longer time to decide what to do, but we finally decided to take a ride up the side of the mountain on the Gondola and try out the luge track. The ride was like a ski lift and took us to a wonderful view of Queenstown:

Going up the Gondola

The Bub in Queenstown

The crew atop the Gondola!

God's handiwork around Queenstown!

We took in the view for several minutes before heading out to find the luge track. We had paid for 5 runs (The motto is "LUGE: Once is never enough") and we had wayy more fun than we expected. Who knew a small plastic case with wheels and handle bars could be so much fun! We "raced" down the side of the mountain on the concrete track and enjoyed all 5 times. If you know anything about racing, you might understand this, but my driving was like Richard Petty - except more by accident than intentional. The scenic and advanced tracks were a lot of fun (Everyone had to go down the scenic track first by rule.) and the luge carts actually get to going at a good pace. Apparently the luge is the 3rd most likely reason that folks end up in the hospital in Queenstown (motor biking and skiing are the top 2 - not bunjy jumping or skydiving.). Looking at the track it doesn't seem that dangerous, but in retrospect it is really easy to get loose in a corner and get turned into the wall. Except there is no wall so you either go all the way off the track or end up bottomed-out on the top of the concrete. Here's a look at the luge track:

The luge track

On your mark... Get.. - GO!!!!!

Let's go do it again!

After our 5 memorable rides were over we headed back down the Gondola. Rain was beginning to set in over the mountains (You could see the rain, but it wasn't quite "here" yet.) We went back to the hostel to get our bags situated in our rooms and met back up with the folks coming back from jet boating. They had also had a blast and everyone was ready to go explore the rest of Queenstown. We dropped off our bags and headed out in the sprinkling rain hoping for some more adventure!

We ended up finding a place called "Cowboys" that looked like it had been taken right out of the South and plopped down in Queenstown. When you walk in the front door, you are greeted by a giant stuffed bear. The place is decorated with chairs and tables made of carved logs. Several different animals line the walls and the place is equipped with a shuffleboard table, darts, billiards, and even a mechanical bull. The workers where cowboy hats (if only they didn't sound British!), and one of the bench cushions said "God Bless America" all over it. In the corner was a fireplace burning with fresh firewood. Nothing like tastes of home while your 7,500 miles from the real thing!

After a few games of each (except the mechanical bull), I was beginning to feel tired and sick again. I proceeded to head back to the hotel to take some medicine and went to the store to pick up some throat lozenges (my throat was incredibly sore). I ran in Subway to grab a quick bite to eat (I was hungry, too, which did not work well with a sore throat...) before retiring around 8:00pm in my bed. We had a big day scheduled for tomorrow and I wanted to make sure I was up for it. A nice long sleep would surely be a great remedy!