Small town NZ in summer!

This is rainy Roxburgh. It was where the bus from Dunedin to Queenstown stopped for a 10 minute break.

There weren’t any ‘free’ rental cars needing to be returned from Dunedin to Queenstown so I was back on public transport. The bus left just before 2pm and then stopped on the edge of Dunedin city – because the bus driver forgot his bag and we had to wait for the bus behind us to bring it for him! So we were running late for the rest of the journey. It rained most of the way but there were tantalizing glimpses of mountains through the clouds.

When I arrived in Queenstown I had to immediately get another bus straight out to the airport. I’d arranged to pick up a rental car (normal rental contract) and I had to get there before the office closed. By then I was starving and had dinner nearby before heading for my hotel.

Queenstown is full. Up until now on my trip I’ve had no problem booking somewhere to stay one or two days ahead. But yesterday when I was looking for somewhere in Queenstown everywhere affordable was booked up. There was only one hostel that looked horrible and had really bad reviews or very expensive hotels available. So I cashed in the free night I had from hotels.com that I’ve been saving for when I really needed it and with that plus an additional £25, I got a room at the Hilton! Never stayed at one before, doubt I will again!

As I was driving there I had to pull over to let a fire engine past. It then turned into the hotel ahead of me! In Vietnam I arrived at one hotel to find the road outside totally flooded and now I arrive at another hotel to find a fire! A plague of locusts next? There was a fire in the laundry, all the guests were standing outside in the rain. A staff member told me where to stop the car (the car park was directly underneath where the fire was) and told me to wait with everyone else. I parked where instructed but decided to stay in the car, no point getting wet!

It took about 35 minutes for the fire brigade to put out the fire, check everything and allow people back into the hotel. It was another 20 minutes before staff came back to reception and I could check in. The room was lovely. The car park smelled of smoke!