Kelsey's Travel Blog!
I travel not to escape life, but to be sure that life will not escape me! Come join me!
Queenstown, New Zealand
It might have been the bungee jumping, but Queenstown is definitely my favorite city in New Zealand thus far. Smaller than Boulder, Colorado (it has a population of about 20,000), Queenstown is a cute little touristy town. Honestly, I’ve not met many Kiwi’s here, nevertheless, I do like it a lot. My dad and step mom are staying in a cute little Bed and Breakfast on the hill in Queenstown, and on the other side of town, my sister and I are staying in the Bumbles Backpackers hostel. This will be the longest time that we spend in one location in New Zealand, staying a total of 9 nights. Bumbles is such a cute hostel that has such an awesome vibe! We are in a co-ed dorm style room (with bunks) that fits 6 people and then we also have 2 private rooms attached to the room as well.
The first night we arrived, the 24th, we met two wonderful girls from England, Sophie and Sarah, who we became instant friends with. If anyone ever comes to Queenstown, New Zealand, a Ferg Burger is an absolute must! I thought American burgers are incredible, this might be in the top 5 burgers I have ever had! Usually, the line is out the door just like Jims Cheese Steaks on South Street. The burgers are huge, but they are incredible. I had the “Little Bambi”; a deer burger. SO GOOD! It is a task just to finish one of the burgers, but it is worth the pain of shoving the last few bites into your mouth! We then spent the rest of the night socializing with our other roommate who was spending 5 weeks biking from the North Island to the South Island and then the Irishman from Christchurch who, on a whim, drove to Queenstown.
So I’m sure everyone (especially those from Colorado) are wondering, what was it like to have Christmas in the summer? Well, it honestly didn’t feel much like Christmas. In general, New Zealand is nowhere near as commercialized as America is when it comes to the Christmas season. Only occasionally could you hear a Christmas song played on the radio or in a shop. Very seldom could you see Christmas lights or Christmas trees, but how could you? It was 80 degrees on Christmas, I was in a tank top and shorts, and I even got into my bikini and, along with a few other hostel mates, jumped into the Queenstown Lake. Honestly, it still was pretty cool spending Christmas on the beach. My sister and I met up with our dad and Trish and had Christmas supper and then we went back to the hostel to enjoy Christmas dinner with all of the other backpackers. It’s so cool how we made a little family out of the hostel and we spent the rest of the evening drinking beer, wine, and cider, and chatting about our own Christmas celebrations and traditions, about our countries of origin, and enjoying each others company. Although I missed home quite a bit on Christmas, especially the snow, it was still a Christmas for the books, spent with incredible people from around the world.
