New Skills and Dining Experiences!

I wandered through the Saturday crafters’ market on the Queenstown waterfront heading to the botanical gardens.  The flowers were in bloom and beautiful, but a group of us were on a mission to the local lawn bowling club!  Phil offered to give us lessons on this old English game, and we were eager to learn a new sport.


It is much more involved than I thought, and with the bias causing the ball to curve, much harder to control than a bocce ball.  We learned and trash talked, but I don’t think a lawn bowling club will be recruiting any of us!  


I remember the bowling lawn at the Williamsburg Inn, and the uproar from dedicated members when it was removed.  I googled, and it was the oldest club in the US.  They still play, but in a town probably an hour from Williamsburg.  Maybe there is hope for me yet!


FergBurger, a local burger cult favorite, is one of the “must do’s” while visiting Queenstown.  Started in 2001, it is open 21 hours a day (the other 3 hours are used for cleaning) with a menu that includes about 20 choices from beef to chicken to tofu to falafel.  Fries and shakes round out the menu, but be prepared to wait during peak season for 1-2 hours!  The line wraps down the sidewalk and around the street from this small restaurant which has expanded its enterprise to FergBakery, FergBar, and FergIceCream!


I prefer to support the little guys, but I had a double scoop of gelato from FergIceCream one night for dinner.  The raspberry and especially the blackberry were both delicious, and if I have a chance, they will be repeated!  I was going to avoid FergBurger, but after lawn bowling, I needed lunch, and maybe I was early enough to avoid the lunchtime rush.


The line for FergBakery next door was actually longer than FergBurger at 11:15 so I jumped in line and only waited about ten minutes to order.  People were walking out with shopping bags filled with multiple burgers, but being a FergBurger virgin, I went with the original…beef, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and tomato relish.


If you watch the counter and kitchen staff, they are hopping and well organized.  It’s not cheap…my burger and Coke Zero were $24…but the burgers are prepared to order, arrive hot wrapped in a paper to hold the large bun and then placed inside another bag.


It was tasty, but not the culinary ecstasy that some devotees claim as the “best burger in New Zealand” or maybe even beyond.  It was big, and I only ate about 3/4 of mine before I had enough.  Many people in my group split one and that would have been perfect.  I had been warned not to order fries since the burger is plenty, and they were right.


While I don’t think it comes even close to maybe even the best burger in town, perhaps if I was high on an adrenaline rush from bungee jumping or snowboarding or some other extreme sport, and starving, it would rank higher.  However, I am glad I tried it and even took a picture!


Jet boats were invented and first used in Queenstown, and we are heading up the Dart River today in one.  Multiple movie sets have used this area including Tom Cruise and Lord of the Rings.  It is located in Glenorchy about a 45 minute drive in a large ski bus along a narrow 2-lane road that tethers on a steep cliff.  I look out my window, and if the bus goes over the edge, it will either roll down a sharp drop into trees and shrubs or fall directly into the lake below.  Neither possibility looks promising!


We have been told to dress warmly so it’s another repeat of my standard five layers.  We are also given long black raincoats with hoods that reach my calves along with a life jacket…just in case!


I’m in the front row since my preferred second row was taken.  After a brief safety lesson, off we go in a boat with 660 horsepower and twin engines that literally skim the water’s surface.  We have a heated handrail to hold onto tightly…nice addition…and padded seats to push our backs and bottoms against.  Our driver wants to add thrills to our ride so he weaves through the river’s channels some of which are so shallow you can hear the boat’s bottom hitting the rocks below at over 50 mph.


And then he turns doughnuts whipping the boat around to create a wave and surge to splash over the edge of the boat!  In the front row, I’m saved from the worst of the water, but the back row is fairly soaked.  I’m laughing, two thumbs up, and having a blast!


The problem is it is also raining, and the rain seems to be falling harder.  We’ve only gone a quarter of the distance up the river, and others like me want to continue in spite of the wind and rain in our faces.  I want to see what 60 mph feels like, but the lead boat elects to turn back to home base, and unfortunately, we must follow.  I am bummed, but again, in all things be thankful so there must be a reason for this.  We get a full refund, got to enjoy a short jet boat ride, along with some challenging doughnuts.  With the rain, we couldn’t enjoy the scenery, but I’m ready to go again!


Tonight is laundry and packing for a flight tomorrow morning to Rotorua.  New Zealand names have been challenging, but great fun to say…Hokitika…Rotorua…Lake Wakatipu!  I realize I only have ten more days on my trip of a lifetime, and what an adventure it has been!


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