Queenstown was a great place to end our last leg in New Zealand. We didn’t stay in Queenstown but about 45 minutes out in Cromwell. It was pretty close to everything. I liked the place we stayed at; it was pretty cozy and spacious. I felt very safe (in some places we stayed at, I didn’t feel very safe). The first few days, I was pretty sick. I felt like I had been run over by a bus. I woke up the first night there super sick and nauseous, and for some reason, my ear ached a lot too. Then the next day we went to the doctors and they said I burst my ear drum and also had strip throat. They gave me medicine, but I was still sick, and my ear hurt, but it helped a lot. I healed in the next few days, but the only thing is I couldn’t swim for 3 weeks I was pretty bummed out but we made it work. Once I felt better, we just went pretty easy for the few days. We went to watch bungee jumping. It was fun and interesting cause everybody would sorta freak out and get scared. You couldn’t pay me anything to be able to do that; I would freak out. The next day, when I was feeling 100%, we went gold mining. We learned a lot of history; it was a bit boring, though. Then, after we toured around, we got to look for and find gold. It was hard and we didn’t find anything but it was still fun. Later that night, we played Canasta. We only played two rounds, but it is always so fun playing. The next day we went to one of the most photographic tree in the world. It’s called the “wanaka tree”. It is a tree in the water with a backdrop of the mountains. When we went there, it was low tide, so the tree wasn’t in the water. It was pretty underwhelming and not what it shows to be online. It was busy, and everybody waited in line for a picture with it. After that we went for lunch at a Greek restaurant. It was okay but not the best Greek we have ever had. Wanaka reminded me of Clear Lake a bit, with all the shops right on the water. After Wanaka, we went back to Cromwell. We rested for a few days and chilled around Cromwell. The one thing that we did was a water inflatable park. It looked so fun. but I couldn’t go because of my ear. My Dad and Kinnon went; they looked like they had a blast. While they were doing that, my Mom and I were laughing cause it was quite funny. I feel like we were all pretty tired in Cromwell. I felt like we were all tuckered out. Later that week, we went to Milford Sound. It was a long day; we had to leave by 7:20 AM. We drove for 5 hours to get to Milford Sound. It was a long drive, and there were windy roads. I did get car sick, which is always the worst. Once we got there, we went on a boat, and they showed us around. It was so pretty. The waterfalls were gorgeous, and they would pop out so unexpectedly. It was really pretty. On our way back, we saw dolphins. There were about 4 of them, and they were right beside our boat. They were jumping and putting on a show. It was so great and for sure one of the top things we did in New Zealand. Dolphins made it the best! The workers said it is rare to see them here, which is even cooler. After the boat ride, it was another 5 hours home. It was a very long drive home, but it was worth it. After that long day, I had a great sleep. The next day, we went to Queenstown. It was super touristy and popular. It reminds me of Banff a bit. The first thing we did was go for lunch; we went to a place that is always lined up. It was called “Ferg burger”. I have to admit it was one of the best burgers I have ever had. I get what the hype was about. Afterwards we went to look at the shops and the lake. We saw lots of the pullover jets and these shark jet skis. It was cool. After watching that for a bit, we went for a walk around the lake. That’s all we did in Queenstown. It was super busy, and I would probably only go there once. The next day, our last day, we went to another popular place people had recommended. It was a little place called “Ayrburn”. It was a great vibe, and their breakfast was really good. That place had a great facility, and the vibe was cool. Once we got home, we packed and were ready for our next adventure to Australia.
