Queenstown

Queenstown is kind of like the Aspen of New Zealand - a small, isolated resort town that is really expensive.  It's about the same latitude in the southern hemisphere as Minnesota is here in the north.  September is supposed to be springtime, but we got about a foot of snow last night.

I took the Skyline gondola up to the top of Queenstown Hill.  The views, of course, are absolutely stunning.  The city sits on Lake Wakatipu, which covers an area of 112 square miles, and is the 3rd largest lake in the country.  It's 1,200 to 1,400 feet deep, and has an interesting feature in that it raises and falls by about 8 inches every 30 minutes.  The locals say that it has a heartbeat.

Also on top of Queenstown Hill is the Ben Lomond Reserve - a huge wilderness area full of hiking trails. I took a trail for a couple of miles, but it ultimately became impassable because of snow and ice, and the steep slope.  I saw only one other group of 4 people over the several hours that I was up here, and now I know why people die in the wilderness.  Without proper equipment, like crampons in these conditions, someone falls and gets hurts, but doesn't found for a week.