This is Queenstown from the Skyline restaurant on Bob's Peak, as seen on the evening of 17-Dec-2008. It looks as though the photo was taken with a fisheye lens but actually it has been stitched together from three of Zonk's photos using Hugin.
Thousands of years ago Lake Wakatipu was carved out by glaciers into its 80 kilometer S-shape of today, the middle of the S being Queenstown and the ends being Kingston to the south and Glenorchy to the north. At its deepest point the lake bottom lies 440 meters below the surface, making it almost as deep as the peaks around it are high.
Wakatipu is said to be the shortened version of Wakatipuwaimaori, which roughly translated means fresh water trough goblin because of the lake monster that is supposed to dwell in its depths, guarding valuable sources of pounamu (greenstone or nephrite jade) in nearby river valleys. By coincidence, Lake Wakatipu has been used in the past by film-makers as a stunt double for Scotland's Loch Ness (e.g. Sony Pictures' 2007 production of The Water Horse).
Thousands of years ago Lake Wakatipu was carved out by glaciers into its 80 kilometer S-shape of today, the middle of the S being Queenstown and the ends being Kingston to the south and Glenorchy to the north. At its deepest point the lake bottom lies 440 meters below the surface, making it almost as deep as the peaks around it are high.
Wakatipu is said to be the shortened version of Wakatipuwaimaori, which roughly translated means fresh water trough goblin because of the lake monster that is supposed to dwell in its depths, guarding valuable sources of pounamu (greenstone or nephrite jade) in nearby river valleys. By coincidence, Lake Wakatipu has been used in the past by film-makers as a stunt double for Scotland's Loch Ness (e.g. Sony Pictures' 2007 production of The Water Horse).
Queenstown was originally a gold mining town, but when the gold rush was over nearly two thirds of the local population left almost overnight. Tourism filled the gap and now Queenstown is considered the Adventure Capital of New Zealand, possibly the world. The mountain ranges in the upper left of the photo are The Remarkables and this is where Zonk learned to ski in 1988. The other skifield close to Queenstown (behind the camera) is Coronet Peak.
Although the scenery is lovely, Kirwin says he doesn't want to go back to Queenstown again. It is a bit too touristy, over-developed, over-priced and fast-paced for his tastes.
Having said that, one of the redeeming features of Queenstown is its best kept secret, the Bathhouse Restaurant located at the extreme lefthand side of the beach (opposite side to the Earnslaw's berth). Kirwin had three courses and a glass of wine for NZ$100 (approx. US$55) and he says it was the nicest meal he's had in years. The bathouse itself is a historic fixture. There's a book of its history in the restaurant so if you decide to have a meal there, make sure you ask to see it. The old newspaper articles make for an amusing read. Even in the 1900s residents complained about extortionate builder's fees!
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