A Dangerous Business

Date: 20th February 2024

It’s only been 10 days since my last rest day in Lake Ohau. I haven’t had so few days between breaks since Northland. Not that I’m complaining, I’m more than happy to spend a day chilling around Queenstown. Well I say “chilling”, but the first thing I had to do was do what could very well be my last resupply on trail. I’ve estimated 10 days of hiking between here and Colac Bay on the south coast and the four of us agreed to send a box down to a farmhouse roughly halfway. Dad gave me a lift down to the Pak N Save at Frankton (the first Pak N Save I’ve been in since Hamilton I believe), got my food, and then went down to a post office in Queenstown to fill the box with my goodies. 6 days to the farm station, 4 days to Colac Bay, after which I’m pretty sure I can survive off cafes and pubs for the rest of the way.

Right, now I’m in town, what exactly can one do in one day in Queenstown? If you’ve got a big wallet there’s quite a bit to do, but I didn’t feel like spending a great deal, not today at least. A pie from Fergbaker (there’s also Mrs Ferg’s for your gelato needs and Ferg’s Bar) was on the cards, as was a stop in a proper disc golf store. I cannot begin to describe how dangerous an idea this was. Avid disc golfers, whether they’re new to the game or seasoned veterans, all share the same love for shiny plastic. As such, going to a store that has shelves stacked with discs can end up being rather expensive if one’s impulse control fails. Mine… didn’t? I count only buying one disc as a success.

Obviously, I’m gonna go out and try it out at the Queenstown Gardens, the first permanent course built in New Zealand. I didn’t take any pictures of the course sadly but I’ll be back through here after I finish the trail. Being the gardens, the course is predominantly made of a series of short wooded holes that favour accuracy and placement over brute force. Not good news for me as I have neither accuracy nor brute force. Many a tree was hit, many a putt was missed, many a bogey (or worse) was taken. A fun course nonetheless, one that I want to get my revenge on when I come back.

Briefly returning to Arrowtown, I came back to town that evening with the whole family for dinner at Fat Badgers, a well loved pizza joint that we’ve been to a few times in past holidays. I gave a horrified expression when mum suggested only getting two pizzas, clearly forgetting how I’m plagued with hiker hunger. Don’t worry for me, I managed to convince her to also order a dozen wings and a bowl of curly fries. Now it was a proper meal, easily satisfying my town food cravings. Afterwards, Eli and I visited one of Queenstown’s ice bars. If you haven’t been to one before, it’s more of an experience than going to a regular bar. Before entering the bar itself, you’re given a big puffy jacket to keep you warm because, y’know, the bar and everything in the room is made of ice so the room has to be below freezing. In the bar itself is a bunch of ice sculptures and tables to sit around and have your drinks that are poured into glasses made from ice. They’re good fun, made more so when you catch your younger sibling bobbing their head to Taylor Swift after years of adamantly claiming they don’t like her music.

Returning to the warm air of Queenstown (a sentence that is rarely uttered), we returned to our farmstay near Arrowtown and settled In for the night. Tomorrow I would have to say goodbye to my family for the final time in New Zealand and head out on the final push to Bluff. Just over 300 km to go, 9/10ths are now done. Being so close to the end, I can very well see this as being one of the least enjoyable sections of trail (large amounts of mud being advertised notwithstanding), knowing I’m so close to the end but also knowing it’s still 12 days away. Just gotta keep doing what I’ve always done: one day at a time.