The Queenstown weekend market has a great feel to it. This fellow was playing guitar and singing along with a whole backup band playing out of MIDI controlled box next to him, and it sounded great. He was playing what I came to feel was the theme music of the trip: classic rock songs from the 70's and 80's, from Billy Joel and Elton John to Bruce Springsteen.

NZ Part 3. In early December 2005, after hiking the Routeburn Track and before going onto the Kepler Track, I spent a few days letting my blisters heal in Queenstown, New Zealand. Queenstown is a small but vibrant town that's generally used as a temporary stopover point, or as the starting point for adrenalin-pumping adventures like bungee jumping and helicopter snowboarding.

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andrewg > All over New Zealand you can find Maori-inspired carvings in jade and bone (cow bone is used now, rather than whale bone). The workmanship varies tremendously, of course. Eric Dyer makes and sells his own pieces - the quality is very high and his prices excellent. Plus, Eric is a very nice guy! Blob and I talked to him in Dunedin, I saw him again in Te Anau, and then again at this weekend market in Queenstown! I bought a couple of pieces from him at the market and we chatted. He got me interested in carving, which would inspire me to spend a day in Hokitika much later, designing and carving my own piece. With that experience, I now have even more respect for the quality of his pieces.

andrewg > The Queenstown weekend market has a great feel to it. This fellow was playing guitar and singing along with a whole backup band playing out of MIDI controlled box next to him, and it sounded great. He was playing what I came to feel was the theme music of the trip: classic rock songs from the 70's and 80's, from Billy Joel and Elton John to Bruce Springsteen.

andrewg > All over the world, people are inventive with their use of apostrophes!

andrewg > An internet cafe in Queenstown. Because of its high density of young tourists, Queenstown boasts at least three internet cafes, and in the evening they're all full.

The Queenstown weekend market has a great feel to it. This fellow was playing guitar and singing along with a whole backup band playing out of MIDI controlled box next to him, and it sounded great. He was playing what I came to feel was the theme music of the trip: classic rock songs from the 70's and 80's, from Billy Joel and Elton John to Bruce Springsteen.