Tuesday 20th March 2007. Mt. Cook to Queenstown. New Zealand.

Today I head to Queenstown via Twizel. If New Zealand is the home of extreme sports then I am assured that Queenstown is the Capital City.

We stop for lunch at the Oasis Cafe in Oamaru before continuing our journey to the town thought 'fit for Queen Victoria'.

After checking into the Lakeside Motel Alex and I head off to explore the town stopping for ice-creams at Patagonia Chocolates.

As a group we take the gondola ride to Bob's Peak where the views over the surrounding countryside are breathtaking. From here you can see the wonder that is Lake Wakatipu in all its glory. 84km long and 5km wide the lake drops to 399m in parts and has an average temperature of 11.5 degrees celsius.

The Doppelmayr gondola ride that we have just enjoyed opened in September 1987 and takes you on 35mm cable to a top station that sits some 790m above sea level. You travel along 1540m of rope at some 3.5m per second enroute to the summit.

Jill, Alex and I also enjoy a drink (a Cosmopolitan in my case) in the bar before heading down to Winnie's for dinner. Winnie's is a must, if not for the food, at least for the roof that opens fully to the elements.

Patty, Joanne, Jill, Sarah, Liz, Alex and I round the night off with a visit to Minus 5 the coolest bar in the southern hemisphere. Eighteen tonnes of ice have gone into constructing Minus 5 with the walls, the bar, the sculptures, the seats and even the glasses we drink from made of ice. Whilst we all put on jackets, gloves and booties for the 30 minute experience; I am the only one in there in shorts...now how did that happen??