A Dart River Safari

Queenstown was a huge shock to the system after having the North Island to ourselves and travelling down the fairly remote west coast of the South Island. A place that seems to proud to be the tourist hub of New Zealand. Conde Nast magazine voted it the friendliest city in the world but in our opinion it's overpriced and irritating, with a large proportion of it's inhabitants requiring shock therapy. Besides having a coffee in Queenstown and tasting some wine in the Gibbston Valley, our only activity for the area was a safari on the Dart River, starting in the sleepy (no ATM or shop) hollow of Glenorchy.

Our trip began with a rushed drive into the Mount Aspiring National Park and through Arcadia, a farm that is the occasional home of film crews and casts when they're around. Films set in the surrounding mountains include Lord of the Rings, Narnia (1 and 2), White Fang and Vertical Limit and there are also at least 30 advertisements shot each year. I don't think the farmer's too concerned about his cows when he rents out his fields for $800 a day.

After a quick guided walk through part of the ancient beech forest we climbed into our jetboat and travelled upstream and back, taking around 1 and a half hours. Amazing that a jetboat is allowed to zoom into such a beautiful and peaceful place. An exciting ride but the real wonder of the trip is the location.