Queenstown, New Zealand Bound!!!

Milford Sound in New Zealand

We just got our visas in the mail, our bags are packed and we're ready to board our plane to Queenstown, New Zealand!!  For those of you who don't know, Chip has accepted a 6 month contract to work at the Wakatipu Medical Center in Queenstown, NZ which is located on the South Island.  Me? I'll be working remotely and on a casual basis for St. Mary's Hospital making offers but I can assure you I'll be a full time traveling fool while in NZ.

We are fortunate to be able to spend 7 full months exploring this beautiful country.  We'll be departing the US on Sept 17th and we'll be immediately taking advantage of the springtime weather in Queenstown.  We're excited to say that we'll be skipping winter this year (although it is likely that we will hit the slopes at one of the ski resorts around Queenstown before they close for the season).

Love me some fun facts so check out the below info about NZ and Queenstown:

• New Zealand is a small country about the size of Colorado (what?!) or Japan and has a population of only 4 million people making it one of the least crowded countries in the world
• New Zealand is the first country to greet the sunrise everyday
• There are presently around 9 sheep to every 1 human in New Zealand
• In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote
• Here’s a really good reason to visit New Zealand – there are no snakes in the country!
• Queenstown is known as New Zealand's premier four season lake and alpine resort
• The city of Queenstown sits on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and is surrounded by the Southern Alps. The most remarkable sight is the Remarkables, which is a saw-toothed range of mountains on the opposite side of the lake from the town (pic below)
• Queenstown has a resident population of about 18,000 and welcomes more than 100 times that number (1.89 million) visitors per year
• Queenstown is renowned for adventure and offers activities such as bungee jumping, sky diving, paragliding, hiking (tramping, as the kiwis call it), wine tasting, skiing, and more
• There are 82 wineries located in the  Queenstown region
• The highest bungy jump in the Southern Hemisphere is Queenstown’s Nevis Highwire at 134 metres or 45 stories high
•  Queenstown's stunning scenery and world-class expertise makes it an ideal destination for shooting feature films, commercials and promotional videos.  Queenstown and the Southern Lakes region have featured in movies like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Vertical Limit, Prince Caspian and the Bollywood superhit I Hate Luv Storys.

And now some pics of Queenstown...

Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu at night with the Remarkables Mountain Range in the background

Wakatipu Medical Center where Chip will be working

Just outside Queenstown

Downtown Queenstown

The Wharf in Queenstown