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Hiking, Biking, Boating, Touring,
Climbing, Riding, Flying, Running,
and Exploring in HOME AT FIRST's destinations.
Visit this page often to find new adventures!
ADVENTURE OF
THE MONTHSEPTEMBER, 2003

Miles of wild open spaces. High desert plateaus extending from the horizons. Virgin
forests of giant prehistoric trees. Grassy plains. Jagged granite rising almost 2.5 miles
above the ocean. Glaciers descending into the jungle. Parrots and penguins in the same
rain forest. A wild ocean crashing into footprint-free beaches. Boom towns. Ghost towns.
No towns. Clapboard false fronts. Dusty main streets at high noon. Cowboys and sheepmen
trading stories at the general store and the post office. Country fairs where lumberjacks
saw and chop, shearers slice wool, and horsewomen debate Western vs. English, while all
covet the prize-winning pies. Wyoming? Montana? Alaska? Mexico? Argentina? East Africa?
Australia?
In Part
One we galloped through the North Island, stopping to gawk at prehistoric trees, Maori
fishing villages, clapboard towns, artist colonies, geothermal playgrounds, until we
reached the San Francisco of the South Pacific, Wellington, and the end of the island.
In Part Two we flew
to the South Island and explored the water wonders and wine lands of Nelson and
Marlborough country, then headed for bloomin Christchurch with a short stop to spot
the whales off the Kaikoura Coast. We took a great rail journey from coast to coast,
crossing the Southern Alps and arriving in wild Westland, where we saw glaciers, went
fishing, and visited frontier towns along the Tasman Sea. Finally, we crossed New
Zealands highest road pass, driving from the coast through the rain forest to the
alpine heights and down into the arid rain shadow of Wanaka in Central Otago on the
eastern slope.
Now, Part Three takes us into some of New
Zealands most famous, most majestic, most remote, and most touristed country, home
of the bungy, the kea, the jet boat, and the great treks. Come with us as our Wild
Frontier itinerary leads to Arrowtown, Queenstown and Fiordland.
PART THREE
South and Southwest on the South
Island
ARROWTOWN
Arrowtown is Queenstown's alter-ego, what Queenstown might have been, if left alone by
developers. Perhaps Arrowtown, with its frontier storefronts, dusty streets and quaint
shops, is not overrun because of the fame of its glamorous neighbor 15 miles away. Like
many towns in Central Otago, Arrowtown was once a gold-mining center. Now its mining past
is hinted at in its wild west appearance and rugged mountain borders. But there are good
restaurants and two golf courses here (including Millbrook, a championship course designed
by New Zealands pride, Sir Bob Charles), which lend Arrowtown a slower, less
frenetic pace than the frenzied Queenstown. But Arrowtown is small, and, presumably,
boring to those who are looking for an adrenalin fix. Queenstown is for the tourism
masses; Arrowtown is for those mass tourism misses.
photo © HOME AT FIRST
QUEENSTOWN
In a nation more and more obsessed with developing tourism Queenstown is king. If
Queenstown didnt invent extreme sports, eco-tourism, wilderness trekking, adventure
travel, heli-skiing, and jet boating, it certainly takes pride in being credited with
their successful commercial development. Local legends like A.J. Hackettwho first
conceived that tourists would pay real money to jump off a bridge with a rubber band
attached to their ankles at Queenstowns Kawarau Bridge on November 12, 1988is
credited with starting New Zealands adventure tourism craze. His company now offers
four different bungy sites in the Queenstown region, each newer site promising a bigger
squirt of adrenalin.
photo courtesy New Zealand Tourism
Queenstowns ambition to become a
combination of Aspen, Orlando, and Vegas has brought the area a colorful mixture of
kitsch, glitz, glamour, youthfulness, beautiful people, counter-culture athletes, groupies
and wannabes. Predictably, legions of mainstream tourists have followed, most more
interested in people-watching than in bungy-jumping. And Queenstown has welcomed the
mainstream with two of New Zealands best golf courses (at Millbrook and Kelvin
Heights), a burgeoning wine district, a growing number of traditional non-adventure tours
(sightseeing) and soft-adventure activities (horseback riding, day-hiking, fly-fishing,
skiing), and a wide range of non-trendy mainstream restaurants including many of the
international chains.
If development in Queenstown could have been
done better, it could also have been much worse. The saving grace is the setting of the
placethe mountains, the lakes, the canyons, and the rivers collide harmoniously at
Queenstown. No matter which spoke of the wheel you follow outward from the Queenstown hub,
the scenery will be magic.
photo © HOME AT FIRST
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
This article is excerpted from Home at First's
exclusive "New Zealand Activity Guide".
The "New Zealand
Activity Guide" is the accompanying guidebook keyed to Home at First's
New Zealand travel program. It is issued only to all Home at First New Zealand guests.
Copyright © Home at Firstall rights reserved.
Get your "New Zealand Activity Guide" by traveling to New
Zealand with Home at First.
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