Today I met a herd of sheep head-on in the road. They jump at every move you make, and they really do act like 'sheep'. As they moved around me I felt like I was in a sea of moving balls of wool.

I took Highway 89 from Wanaka to Queenstown because it was shorter (BIG reason) and because it was suggested by another cyclist. Well... it was worth it.

And it's a good thing I was on a MTB and a good thing I went from the north to the south. Most of the road is gravel and the south side is VERY steep. At times I was breathing dust from cars and sometimes it was granny gear up [the] hills (so as not to loose traction) and once I even went down when my front wheel went sideways in the gravel, but it was worth it. The dirt descent was hot but I had to take it slow because of my bags and shitty tires. The last drop into the valley was paved, steep and the switchbacks were outRAGEOUS.

I stopped by Arrowtown on the way to Queenstown. It's an old gold mining town with a great museum.

It seems Arrowtown was a Wild West kind of place during the gold rush here. Lots of wool shops, leather shops and souvenir shops. And EVERYBODY HAS A TV WITH THE GAMES ON! [That's the Commonwealth or Goodwill Games I believe...]

I took another back road from Arrowtown to Queenstown which was very scenic. It was a super downhill into Queenstown and what a tourist trap it is...

Training Diary Comments: Nice & warm. Felt OK, I stopped for an hour and then felt like shit, but OK. It takes me a long time to warm up.

You can:

• Bungee jump
• Raft down the river
• Jet up the river
• Take a bus tour
• Take a tour on horseback
• Jet around the lake
• Go sightseeing in a helicopter
• Take a cruise on an historic steamer to Milford Sound
• Ride a gondola up a hill for the view
• Parapent

There might be more but I haven't seen it yet.

I'm at the "Bumbles" hostile which is $13 but very clean and nice.

Hwy 89 looking south	Queenstown seen from Ben Lomond
Queenstown seen from Ben Lomond	Queenstown seen from Ben Lomond
Queenstown seen from Ben Lomond