On New Year's Day we traveled to Glenorchy by way of Queenstown, a popular destination on Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown was bedlam. It was as crowded with tourists as Fisherman's Wharf on a busy summers day -mostly under-30's with hangovers from the night before. The actual population of this town is something like 3000, but on NYD it was more like 20,000! We ate lunch in the park alongside the beach and then headed on to Glenorchy where we had reservations in a holiday camp.
When we arrived at the holiday camp we were appalled. It was wall-to-wall with motor homes, camping trailers, tents and people. By comparison, KOA would be an exclusive resort. The cabins we had reserved were about the size and structure of the utility sheds available at Menard's; ours had two cots, one at each side, and a small fold-down table in between. A small frame building housed the "kitchen facilities", dining area and a couple of sofas for lounging. These facilities would have been alright for 20 or so people, but there was a long queue to use either the food prep area or sinks for cleaning up.
There were two bathhouses. The one nearest our "cottage" had two sinks, two toilet stalls and two showers. Needless to say, with over two hundred people using the facilities they were not tidy. We cooked our supper on one of the grills outside and, as there was a change in the weather, ate in the rain.
Many of the "guests" had traveled from their home bases to be here for New Year's Eve and were still in a celebratory mind, staggering and shouting with beer bottles in hand. One of our entourage dubbed the entire experience as a possum hunters rendezvous. Not all of our fellow campers were snockered. We chatted with some of them around the grills while preparing supper. Bobby commented on how yummy the kebobs one fellow was fixing looked and he gave us some to try. Another bushy bearded guy (he looked like a possum hunter!) had recently returned from the States and a trans-America motorcycle trip including a pilgrimage to S. Another guy in a wheelchair
We had unfortunately registered for two nights, but had no intention of staying a second if at all possible to find other accommodations. This seemed like a somewhat tenuous enterprise as everyone in New Zealand was on official holiday for at least four days. Alison and I went around Glenorchy examining the lodging to see what was available, affordable and might meet our needs. Nothing there! We sat in the beer garden of one of the pubs to review our options over a pint. The weather had broken and sun was showing off snow covered peaks to the north. We searched our copy of the Lonely Planet Guide to New Zealand and found a listing for backpackers in Kinloch across the lake and about 25 km by road.
When we arrived at the holiday camp we were appalled. It was wall-to-wall with motor homes, camping trailers, tents and people. By comparison, KOA would be an exclusive resort. The cabins we had reserved were about the size and structure of the utility sheds available at Menard's; ours had two cots, one at each side, and a small fold-down table in between. A small frame building housed the "kitchen facilities", dining area and a couple of sofas for lounging. These facilities would have been alright for 20 or so people, but there was a long queue to use either the food prep area or sinks for cleaning up.
There were two bathhouses. The one nearest our "cottage" had two sinks, two toilet stalls and two showers. Needless to say, with over two hundred people using the facilities they were not tidy. We cooked our supper on one of the grills outside and, as there was a change in the weather, ate in the rain.
Many of the "guests" had traveled from their home bases to be here for New Year's Eve and were still in a celebratory mind, staggering and shouting with beer bottles in hand. One of our entourage dubbed the entire experience as a possum hunters rendezvous. Not all of our fellow campers were snockered. We chatted with some of them around the grills while preparing supper. Bobby commented on how yummy the kebobs one fellow was fixing looked and he gave us some to try. Another bushy bearded guy (he looked like a possum hunter!) had recently returned from the States and a trans-America motorcycle trip including a pilgrimage to S. Another guy in a wheelchair
We had unfortunately registered for two nights, but had no intention of staying a second if at all possible to find other accommodations. This seemed like a somewhat tenuous enterprise as everyone in New Zealand was on official holiday for at least four days. Alison and I went around Glenorchy examining the lodging to see what was available, affordable and might meet our needs. Nothing there! We sat in the beer garden of one of the pubs to review our options over a pint. The weather had broken and sun was showing off snow covered peaks to the north. We searched our copy of the Lonely Planet Guide to New Zealand and found a listing for backpackers in Kinloch across the lake and about 25 km by road.
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