The morning started off with a sleep in, the first one in a while. Breakfast was in our room, not with the other 50 hikers for the first time in four days. Mom and Dad took their time getting ready and figuring out what they would do with their day.
In the end, we wandered around Queenstown for a while, along the lake, taking photos. I even got to be in some of them as they discovered animal statues in the centre of town. We saw Peter and Kerri from the Milford Track. They waved at me but tried to pass by with their hands covering their faces but Dad noticed.
Then we had lunch in a mall. I didn’t get to eat any, but Dad seemed to really enjoy it. Mom was fascinated with the whole concept of “The Roast” fast food. The guy cooks two roasts every morning: pork and lamb and pre-cooks roast potatoes and kumara. When you order your sandwich he picks up the roast, carves off a few slices, then dices them up and assembles your sandwich. Dad had lamb with mint sauce and gravy. Mom had a ham and cheese with onion toasted sandwich. Simple, like a home cooked meal is what they both said.
After that we walked up to the Skyline Gondola. As Dad was buying the tickets for the gondola and luge, we saw two more of the guys from the track: Derek and Winnie. Seems like there was a bit of a competition between Dad and Derek. The five of us did the luge together.
The first run has to be down the “scenic” aka baby route. Once you’ve done that one you’re allowed on the advanced course. Mom went down ahead of Dad so that he could take a video. She took the first corner so hard I flew out the side and was dragged down the track. You should see my road rash!
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the video:
