Cheeky urinals
So I’m back home after a marathon traveling session (12 hour flight plus 7 hour drive), and while I have plenty of photos to share, this one is one of my favorite. My pal F convinced me to check out the men’s toilets at the Sofitel so I could get these photos.
Hmm..
Since our last trip to New Zealand two years ago, I’ve noticed a huge growth in the cottage industry catering to high end merino wool products. While Icebreaker wool clothing has gained a name for itself in the U.S., there’s a whole slew of similar wool brands in this country, and it seems that nearly every storefront that’s not selling the ubiquitous greenstone jewellery has some form of 100%. It’s lovely stuff, too – just painfully pricey (even with the dollar’s strength here). I did capitulate today, having learned from a friend that an NZ women’s clothing store had merino wool tops on sale. So for about half the price of the gorgeous bell-sleeved surplice top I was ogling at another store I now have a slightly heavier weight less chic but more functional souvenir. And seeing as it was below freezing here last night (spring in Queenstown has thus far brought more snow than they saw most of the winter, along with a lot of rain) , it’ll be useful tonight.
I always feel so bumpkin when I’m in Queenstown, though it’s not because I’m not wearing Armani, excessive makeup or a fur coat. It’s more a subtle style thing. Kiwi style and design is totally different to the many places I’ve visited, including such “fashion capitals” as Paris and New York. To my untrained eye it’s this fabulous melange of so much – I see classic lines, vintage cool, urban edge and a touch of whimsy. There are a ton of local designer boutiques in Queenstown, and there’s a palpable pride about these designs – I‘ve had more than one shop clerk tell me that their products are locally made. Beyond the unique (and beautifully made) clothing, there are also a number of design shops promoting New Zealand designers, including Saben and Jill Main. Heck, even the national tourism board has an official souvenir shop that stocks some credibly cool looking products that don’t look mass-produced in China (even if they are).
And then there’s the architecture, which both N and I really like. Too bad there’s no hope in hell that anything like this will be built in McMansion-Cabin Tahoe.
My dream house
Even apartment blocks have style in NZ
As I stood with a recently reconnected-with friend (thanks to Facebook) on the balcony of the Queenstown Resort College at a book signing reception for a local chef’s new recipe book, happily enjoying the evening sun off Lake Wakatipu and a crisp glass of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, I realized that this was what vacation is all about.
With the torrential rains finally subsiding and the sun making a long-awaited reappearance, we decided to head east to find some mountain biking trails. Nearer to Queenstown, our mountain biking experiences had been more akin to agricultural cyclo-cross, riding through and past cows and their manure, carrying the bike over numerous gates, and veering around bogged out parts of the trail. That’s not my favorite kind of riding, so we thought the drier parts of the Otaga region (not unlike the Eastern Sierra) would provide fewer opportunities to walk through mud…and around cows blocking the trail.
Near the town of Cromwell (40 minutes away from Queenstown), we found a wilderness area (called Department of Conservation here) with a trail that climbed up towards a few peaks. While the guide book described the climb as ‘gnarly’, we didn’t realize quite how steep the kiwi’s build their 4WD roads. Suffice to say there was a lot of pushing the bike up. While the views of nearby Lake Dunston and the higher (still snow-capped) peaks were gorgeous (and admiring them allowed us to catch our breath), by the time we ascended 1700 feet we realized the trail wasn’t really going to flatten out. So down we went, and the trail was quite fun, even though it wasn’t the singletrack we love.
Dunston Lake from Devils Creek
Since this anaerobic jaunt finished so early, the next stop was the town of Alexandra (Alex) another 30 km southwest. Lake Dunston is a long dammed affair, and the road follows it to the town of Clyde where it ends abruptly in an enormous hydroelectric dam. The valley widens, and it’s apparent you’ve arrived in wine country without even consulting the wine trail map.
In Alex, we found a local bike shop (LBS), and the guys there gave us some useful information on where singletrack trails were. Since I was still skeptical that smooth, fun, fast trails with flow even existed here, N suggested we try the River trail that followed the Clutha River up to Clyde. I’m glad we did, as it was a 12 km trail that had banked turns and fun bits, all under a canopy of willows.
The trail to Clyde
It was nice to see that flowy singletrack does exist here. And apparently there’s more of that to be found near Alex. Can’t wait!
This is day 3 of our vacation in New Zealand, and in such a short time we’ve done a few glorious mountain bike rides, been completely drenched by rain in the Mt. Aspiring National Park (during an aborted attempt to reach the Routeburn Hut), enjoyed our friend’s view of the snow-covered Remarkables, and seen lots and lots of sheep and their frolicking lambs both by and on the road. I really think that Soleil is part sheep, seeing how closely the playful lambs resemble her (pink ears, prancing gait, white…). Which would account for so much.
Perhaps the quintessential experience thus far was watching the Flight of the Conchords with our friend (who’d never seen it before) on national NZ television. The guy who plays Murray must have been the head steward on our flight over, since the voice, accent and penchant for reminding us about our lap rugs and keeping our seats up during meal service were just too close to be a coincidence.
Since a picture says a thousand words, and my words are jumbled from some wine tonight…..
