Chapter 2: In Which a Town of Queens is Visited

The bus from Christchurch to Queenstown had a fancy see-through roof which would have been much more appreciated had it not been cloudy and with on-and off rain all day.

One might even say it was...Awesome....

This bus ride was, again, uneventful. Much of it was spent watching Doctor Who via tablet (yay technology!) though there was a nice stop at two very pretty lakes and the driver was full of interesting information which Renee has since forgotten.

Upon arriving in Queenstown Renee asked for directions but didn't listen very well and pretty promptly took a wrong turn and climbed up a very steep hill with all of her belongings (which are quite heavy all together). She finally found her hostel which was very nice and after placing everything in the shared room she walked Queenstown briefly and found the founder, and his sheep...

She then returned to her hostel with intents to...do... something? before venturing out again that night but instead got to chatting with one of the other hostel people, Andrew from Auckland and they ended up joining another hosteler for a drink with someone she had met earlier that day. Moose and Petunia and Elgamore stayed hidden, for some reason being fearful of new people, but Renee had a great time. The next morning she woke up early and, after finding food, decided to take a trip up the gondola and do some Luge rides! Moose and Petunia joined her (as much as they were able) and there was much fun had by all.

Captain Gravity!

On the way back, anticipating hunger and having learned a little about this magical burger place, Renee went to Fergburger (and then Fergbakery since she got hungry waiting for the burger and OMG best cream filled donut EVER!!!).

Here's the thing about Fergburger: It's got that magical atmosphere that restaurant people dream of, it's always busy, people come from everywhere to eat there and there's an indescribable vibe around it because of those things. Many people have called it the best burger ever, people talk about it as a must for Queenstown. They open at 8:30am (way too early for a burger) and close at 5:00am (also too early for a burger) and the wait is almost always an hour, if you're lucky enough to go at a time when there isn't a line (and wait) to order.

The kitchen is SUPER tiny and packed with people each doing one job so that no one gets in each other's way. It looks like the most fun and the most terrible job ever, in a good way....working in food service has clearly given Renee a strange view on these things. I( loved watching what I could of the kitchen while I waited for the last 15 minutes being unable to keep walking around any longer). I had the option of 2 different veg burgers: Falafel or Tempured tofu. Deciding to be adventurous Renee ordered the Tempured tofu with spicy satay, coconut and coriander sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber, snowpea shoots and aioli – called the Holier than Thou.

Renee shared a tiny bit with Moose and Petunia (since they asked so nicely) and was quite pleased with the purchase. One of the greatest parts is the homemade bun from Fergbakery next door. It was certainly a unique burger and one Renee would happily eat again, as for it being “The Best Ever!” not so sure, but certainly worth a visit for the atmosphere! So much so that Andrew wanted one and so there was a second excursion later that night so he could get one.

This time there was preparation for the wait time and the ONE THING Renee KNEW she wanted to visit while in Queenstown was visited. Hello CookieTime Cookie Bar.!!! :D (in case you don't know, CookieTime cookies are these incredible pre-packaged cookies that taste really quite amazing and they're made in NZ and I love them...a lot...it's a bit of a problem....)

Fudge Brownie cookie with Hot Cocoa, total win, and the CookieTime Cookie Muncher!! It was so good and such fun that there was a return trip later that night (after the burger) for more cookies (and stickers!!)

IMG 2682, 83

Queenstown was great, meeting other people was fantastic!

The next morning was rainy as was the bus ride to Haast....(See next post)

XP: # of cookies Renee ate: 4