Queenstown, not exactly a bed of roses

So end of the first full day in Queenstown and all is not really well. The first time i was here i thought i was not too fond of the place cuz i had just arrived and was not really used to the place. Now, after nearly 2 months in the country i still get the same feeling. I liked Dunedin, it was a city and really just got on with it, there was expensive places, cheap places and lots of different places to go and things to do. Queenstown is different, i do not get the whole friendly vibe here half as much. There is no such thing as cheap here, everything is based on extracting as much money out of tourists as possible and if there is one thing i hate its the feeling that someone is goughing me straight to my face. There is not as much kiwi hospitatility because everybody is like me, foreign and just here for a short time. Dunedin was a student town but this place is just full of gangs of young sports bums hanging around. I know it is a bit of a black pot/kettle situation but i dont consider myself like them. I came here for the snow and stuff, not the constant drinking and crazy nite-life. I think i am just kind of missing the set-up i had in Dunedin, in the hostel at the minute they have their own drink so you cant bring cheap stuff from supermarkets, you have to buy it from them.

As for the whole job and accomodation thing i am not sure how that will work out either. I am in the hostel for two weeks but at the ewnd of that time a friend is coming over ot visit me for two weeks so i cannot really get a job if it means that i will be working the entire time she is here. Accomodation is something else that i dont know about. The average price at the minute for a cheap old apartment is between 140-200 dollars a week. At that price it would be cheaper to stay in the hostel. Not that i have seen any apartments to rent however, every notice board around is covered by notices from people asking for rooms rather than people offering them, they are golddust at the minute. That and lots of them are unfurnished or looking for 6 month minimum contracts.

Mah, i think i might just be making mountains out of mole-hills but i am just not i the best of moods at the minute. Back to not really knowing anybody again and having nothing to do with my days, god bless the regular get-up, dress beds, go on internet, go to gym, have lunch, hang around in cafe, have dinner, hang around in cafe, drink beers and watch DVDs time in Dunedin. Just cant get my priorities right at the moment and not sure what i should be doing. Hopefully things will be better on the morrow.

Its a town fit for a Queen!!!

So i have arrived back in Queenstown. After hours of trying to get it to work the music programme needed to transfer songs onto my MP3 player randomly decided to start working and so i got around 400 new songs for my trip. There is something that i wont be able to do down here, it is going to be hard to get used to paying for the internet again, kindof sucky as well.

So leaving Dunedin was a bit depressing. I had settled in nicely there and made a few friends in the hostel and the internet cafe. thats something i will have to get used to i suppose if i am going to be moving around a lot. Of course i was half-way to Queenstown when i realised that i lelt my phone charger, a pair of shoes, a hat and all my rings, chains and stuff back there so i am getting the jewellery's and charger sent back to me. The rest can just be donated or dumped. Richard, the owner of the internet cafe and hostel said if ever i need a reference for a job in an cafe/hostel here then i can give his name which is pretty sweet. I will try and get back there for a weekend or two before i head away.

So Queenstwn is just as i remember it, except colder. Last night appearantly it was -10 degrees, boo. The slopes are opening this qweekend but i may give them a miss as i am sure that they will be completely mobbed and i want to get stuff organised here. Finding a place and a job is important but also finding a place with someone who drives and is here for the season is going to be a must. There is a shuttle bus the 8k out to the snow fields several times a day. Except this being Queenstown it is $25 dollars a day or $700 for the season, i mean fuck sake.

Back in the same hostel again for a while. Its a bit weird, going from the person who showed around the new guests and so knowing most people ion the hostel to just another back-packer. I am better prepared this time though, just on my way to the supermarket to stock up on all the necessaries and then will make myself a proper diner. i am also a bit better with the whole hostel eqituitte, in that i find it easier to start conversations with complete strangers and stuff, which is always a help.

Anyhow, expect my internet presence to be greatly reduced for the near future, going to have to stay in uber-cheapo mode for a while i say.

PS: Hello Patrick, i missed your musk

REAL NZ EXCITMENT!!

Well not much going on, bar my near death experience today. One of the guys got a car so we decided to go on a wee trip today cuz it has been shitty weather all week. It is still bitterly cold, snow fell on the hills and everything, but it stopped raining at least.

So we went up the coast to see some famous rocks. Appearantly they are unique cuz they are big and very round. Went to see them but was not very impressed, mosty because we were freezing our asses off. So on te way home we were coming down the side of a small hill and didn't the driver lose control of the car. The road was icy and had loose chipping on it and we were also coming around a corner. The corner was not too bad but with everything suddenly the car started drifting, we verved left and right a bi then went around 40 yards sideways, i was expecting us to flp over at any stage. Eventually we ended up on the opposite side of the road facing the back up the hill we just came down. We were lucky that there were no cars coming cuz otherwise both us and them would have been fucked. It al turned out alright in the end though, i might even put up some photos of the beach.

So my last few posts have not reeally been very action filled, and to be honest this one is not going to be either. I have been in DUnedin now for around 3 weeks i think, maybe four, and will be here for another one or two i say. I have done most of the tourist stuff around here, say the Steepest Hill, went to the Catlins and saw the Peninsula wildlife sanctury. I have become pretty settled here and i am not really that bothered by it. As i said to Liam the other day, not everyday can be filled with mountain hikes and bungee jumps. I have actually started paid work here in the internet cafe (the hostel reception is in the internet cafe and the hostel is upstairs) as well as dressing beds and doing laundry in the hostel, meaning i get free accomodation several days a week and make a few bob during the week as well. That has been my plan while waiting for Queenstown, not heamorrhage money cuz i am sure there will be plenty of that in Queenstown, or Expensive-Ville as i like to call it.

The hostel has gotten pretty quiet with it turning to Winter and all and there has not been a good a group as the one we went on the roadtrip but it has ticked along, lots of rented DVDs, occasional drinks and incresing time spent playing computers in the cafe. "You could have done all this at home!" i hear you say, true i suppose but i am not at home and i am doing what i like down here with different people and in a different culture than home, which makes it a different experience and a very enjoyable one at that.