A week in Queenstown
After three months, through winter, Liberty has withstood the test of time and we have moved past the novel feeling of life on the road. Romantic notions of frosty days, woodfiry nights, homebaked bread and an overall gypsy vibe have become reality for us. This is now our life.
Despite this, or maybe because of it, it was a treat to enjoy a week of luxury and spacious living in Hannah’s aunt and uncle’s holiday home in Queenstown. Queenstown, while not subtle in its grand natural setting, has subtly nudged me to warm up to it in unexpected ways. Just like in Arrowtown, and to mirror Hannah’s previous post on ‘becoming a local’, I’ve been on a couple of runs (to dive into the scenery), visited a few cafes, and met some locals. All this gives me an insight into a place, but Queenstown has offered me more:
1. The ice skating rink has transported me to a time of adventures in my childhood, even though we mostly played on naturally frozen lakes in the woods. But seeing Otis so excited about ice skating, and seeing his first steps on ice and in the skate park, made me connect to him, and to this place, in a special way.
2. Walking along the peninsula’s shores, I couldn’t help but thinking of a different, bigger place. I pinpointed it to:
- boats in the harbour (Wellington, Hamburg)
- mountains, Douglas Firs and Sequoias (Vancouver and Stanley Park)
The lake is big enough to fool you into thinking that it could be a fiord. But now I’m really longing for the sea again.
We had a great break here of catching up with whanau and friends, while having some family time by ourselves, too.
After lots of pretty mountain views and polished lake fronts I’m eager to get into more rugged territory again, to have sandy toes and saltwatery hair. Real New Zealand, here we come!
PS Recommended song while looking at the pictures, hee hee: Wolves by Phosphorescent.
