A weekend in Queenstown
Queenstown is NZ's tourist mecca. On every corner are tourist information centers pointing to you all the various places you can spend loads and loads of money on extreme adventure sports.
I admit it. I got sucked into the tourist trap and went paragliding one afternoon.
Amy paragliding above the farmlands outside Queenstown.
Floating high in the sky.
More paragliding. It was definitely worth it (until I got to the ground and felt really sick!)
Richard and I took a gondola ride up the mountain, and did a bit of luging. Good fun!!
Tuesday afternoon, it's hot and there are lots of lazy rivers around, so we pick up some kiddie innertubes and decide to float down a class II-III beautiful gorge section of river. Unfortunately, no one would pick us up for the shuttle up to the put in. Here's Richard in his bright green tutu innertube.
Perhaps it was for the better. About a half hour into our hitchiking attempt, boaters started pulling into the gravel lot where we were standing. Apparently we were just in time for the weekly Tuesday afternoon Kawarua run down the very same section! So we ditched the innertubes and grabbed the boats. There were slalom boats, creekers, playboats and riverboards.
Next day...the Shotover River. Here's a section where a new, house-sized rock fell into the river, creating such a tight slot that the rafting outfitters had to suspend all trips for a week until the rock was removed. A dynamite team was scheduled for the day after we kayaked this section. That slot is only about 1 ft. wide.
The Shotover River has all sorts of funny features. Here's a man-made cave that most of the water goes through. A little daunting when it's just Richard and I!
Checking out the cave. It was actually quite flat and tame inside, until you come to a horizon line and a final, unscoutable rapid consisting of all the rock that was blown out to make the cave.
I admit it. I got sucked into the tourist trap and went paragliding one afternoon. 
Amy paragliding above the farmlands outside Queenstown.
Floating high in the sky.
More paragliding. It was definitely worth it (until I got to the ground and felt really sick!)
Richard and I took a gondola ride up the mountain, and did a bit of luging. Good fun!!
Tuesday afternoon, it's hot and there are lots of lazy rivers around, so we pick up some kiddie innertubes and decide to float down a class II-III beautiful gorge section of river. Unfortunately, no one would pick us up for the shuttle up to the put in. Here's Richard in his bright green tutu innertube.
Perhaps it was for the better. About a half hour into our hitchiking attempt, boaters started pulling into the gravel lot where we were standing. Apparently we were just in time for the weekly Tuesday afternoon Kawarua run down the very same section! So we ditched the innertubes and grabbed the boats. There were slalom boats, creekers, playboats and riverboards.
Next day...the Shotover River. Here's a section where a new, house-sized rock fell into the river, creating such a tight slot that the rafting outfitters had to suspend all trips for a week until the rock was removed. A dynamite team was scheduled for the day after we kayaked this section. That slot is only about 1 ft. wide. 
The Shotover River has all sorts of funny features. Here's a man-made cave that most of the water goes through. A little daunting when it's just Richard and I!
Checking out the cave. It was actually quite flat and tame inside, until you come to a horizon line and a final, unscoutable rapid consisting of all the rock that was blown out to make the cave.
posted by Richard and Amy at
2:27 PM
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