Day 108. Queenstown and Beyond. February 18, 2016.

6.5 km
Frankton Motor Camp km 2679.5 to Queenstown km 2686.

Thunder, lightening and heavy rain. That all happened last night but I still managed to sleep pretty well. I woke up to clear skies and stars at 5:30 am and walked over to the kitchen.

Now, what should I do today? I have 6.5 km to Queenstown. Then there is another hazard zone around Lake Wakatipu. Boat, bus or hitch 86 kilometers. The buses leave at 8 and 9:30 and I still needed to resupply. All indoor lodging is booked. I have heard it is $50 to camp. Leo and I have been talking about hiking the Routeburn Track and Greenstone to link back up with the TA. But high winds and heavy rains are not making that a good choice. But is the forecast accurate for the first time? Impossible to know. I called the Glenorchy Hotel and they had some cancellations probably due to the weather. So the plan: walk to Queenstown, hang around town, hitch to Glenorchy, sleep inside, hitch the rest of the way to the other side of the lake. Plans are so much easier when there is accommodation available… or when the sun is shining.

The plan is working perfectly. It only rained for the 2nd half of the walk into Queenstown. I went to the library and updated my blog. Then I met Leo to eat a famous Fergburger. The restaurant is open 24 hours a day and always has a line outside. There is minimal seating inside so lots of people do take away. The burger was good, not great. From the time we got in line to when we walked out after eating was one hour. That’s fast eating.

Then we hitched and got a ride right away with Opie who lives in Glenorchy, 70 kilometers from Queenstown. He told us all about the history of the area and recent changes. He also told us we were missing some gorgeous views because of the weather. Bummer.

We checked into Glenorchy Hotel. There was a fire going in the wood burning stove in the backpacker lounge. I loved the warmth.