Mountain walks and Luge rides!
Posted by Sarah O'Neill , Friday, 29 April 2011 23:41
On Monday we had a lazy morning, early lunch and then went for a walk. We walked along the lakeside the other way, and came to a good walk we had seen on a poster in the campsite, so we decided to take it. It let us past the old Pumphouse, and up and up and more up! It was pretty hard going, and I am glad we had packed a bottle of water! It was all uphill, we were basically 
climbing up the mountain side! As we progressed, more and more layers of clothes had to come off! Because the sun goes down behind the mountain it started to get darker and eerier, and a couple of times we weren’t sure whether to carry on or head back, but we pushed on, and eventually came to the clearing where we had to take a different path back down. We saw quite a few mountain bikers having a great time (they have a different track) whizzing down the mountain side! If we had carried on the same track upwards, we would have eventually come to the top of the mountain where the gondola takes you, but it was getting late and we were ready to walk back down! The pic is Ben charging off into the distance while I huff and puff behind!!!!
On Tuesday we booked to go up the mountain on the gondola and go on the luge ride that it
up there. We had an early lunch and off we went. It was a short uphill walk to the gondola station, and then we boarded our gondola and went all the way up the mountain! It was a spectacular view, and because it was just the two of us in there, it was a totally uninterrupted view. We could see all of Queenstown and the lake and the mountains! When we got to the top we had a little explore, there is a lot going on at the top of the mountain! We found the luge ride, which is where we picked up our helmets from, I became Red Top again, but sadly Silver Bullet had to wear a blue one! We then had to ride a ski lift type thing to get to the luge. We had bought 5 rides, and got one free, so we were planning to have our first go and then race best of 5 for the rest, however, we had to do our first go on the 'scenic route', so it kind of thwarted the plans! The scenic route was still great fun, you can really get up some speed on those things! Taking a corner at a high pace got a bit dicey! After our first go we went on the 'Advanced' track, which was even more fun! Lots of fast corners and down hills for gaining speed! On our third go there was a little boy coming up beside Ben so I warned Ben to be careful, but I needn't have, the kid was racing us both, and winning! There I was worried for this little boy, but there he was whizzing past us and loving the race!!! The kid one
that one! We had another go, and I overtook Ben on a corner bashing him a bit, and his luge toppled and he had to put his foot out to stop himself tipping over completely, producing the smell of burning rubber from his walking boots!!!! Needless to say, I won that one!!! We decided to go for a walk before our last couple of rides. We went up the ski lift to the top and did the rest of the trail from the day before. It was really tough going and all uphill obviously! We eventually got to the top, and it was definitely worth the hike! Once we had enjoyed the breathtaking views of 
Queenstown and the mountains we went back down for our final rides. I think Ben won the first one, so it all rested on the last ride! We got to the starting line, and Ben made a foul up with his brake, so I got the lead, and held it all the way . . . until we caught up with a slow lady, and I was being safe, and Ben took the oportunity to whip past us both and won!!! The photo is just after that moment, you can see the grin on his face, and me yelling and laughing at him! We really enjoyed that afternoon!
climbing up the mountain side! As we progressed, more and more layers of clothes had to come off! Because the sun goes down behind the mountain it started to get darker and eerier, and a couple of times we weren’t sure whether to carry on or head back, but we pushed on, and eventually came to the clearing where we had to take a different path back down. We saw quite a few mountain bikers having a great time (they have a different track) whizzing down the mountain side! If we had carried on the same track upwards, we would have eventually come to the top of the mountain where the gondola takes you, but it was getting late and we were ready to walk back down! The pic is Ben charging off into the distance while I huff and puff behind!!!!On Tuesday we booked to go up the mountain on the gondola and go on the luge ride that it
up there. We had an early lunch and off we went. It was a short uphill walk to the gondola station, and then we boarded our gondola and went all the way up the mountain! It was a spectacular view, and because it was just the two of us in there, it was a totally uninterrupted view. We could see all of Queenstown and the lake and the mountains! When we got to the top we had a little explore, there is a lot going on at the top of the mountain! We found the luge ride, which is where we picked up our helmets from, I became Red Top again, but sadly Silver Bullet had to wear a blue one! We then had to ride a ski lift type thing to get to the luge. We had bought 5 rides, and got one free, so we were planning to have our first go and then race best of 5 for the rest, however, we had to do our first go on the 'scenic route', so it kind of thwarted the plans! The scenic route was still great fun, you can really get up some speed on those things! Taking a corner at a high pace got a bit dicey! After our first go we went on the 'Advanced' track, which was even more fun! Lots of fast corners and down hills for gaining speed! On our third go there was a little boy coming up beside Ben so I warned Ben to be careful, but I needn't have, the kid was racing us both, and winning! There I was worried for this little boy, but there he was whizzing past us and loving the race!!! The kid one
that one! We had another go, and I overtook Ben on a corner bashing him a bit, and his luge toppled and he had to put his foot out to stop himself tipping over completely, producing the smell of burning rubber from his walking boots!!!! Needless to say, I won that one!!! We decided to go for a walk before our last couple of rides. We went up the ski lift to the top and did the rest of the trail from the day before. It was really tough going and all uphill obviously! We eventually got to the top, and it was definitely worth the hike! Once we had enjoyed the breathtaking views of 
Queenstown and the mountains we went back down for our final rides. I think Ben won the first one, so it all rested on the last ride! We got to the starting line, and Ben made a foul up with his brake, so I got the lead, and held it all the way . . . until we caught up with a slow lady, and I was being safe, and Ben took the oportunity to whip past us both and won!!! The photo is just after that moment, you can see the grin on his face, and me yelling and laughing at him! We really enjoyed that afternoon! 
Fun fun and more FUN!!!!