A Perfect Day in New Zealand!

A perfect summer day in Queenstown


The South Island of New Zealand is one of those very select places whose beauty is indescribable with words. Anyone who has watched the Lord of the Rings movies has been exposed to New Zealand’s amazing and exotic landscapes, ever since film director and native Kiwi (the name New Zealander’s call themselves) Peter Jackson shot the movies in his home country.

New Zealand was one of the very last places on earth to be inhabited by people, discovered by tribes that originated from the Polynesian Islands. These people, the Maori, settled on both Islands about 1000 years ago, and still have an important presence today both in terms of population and culture. Most of the country looks the same as it did when the Maori first arrived because New Zealand has been very good about protecting their natural resources and environment through a great park system and a dedication to conservation. A perfect place to begin exploring this majestic wonderland is in the city of Queenstown, the self proclaimed “adventure capital of the world”.

Located in the South-East portion of the South Island, this surprisingly cosmopolitan and stylish city of 20,000 people, sits along the shores of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu. Across the lake, towering high above the city is The Remarkables mountain range. Queenstown’s downtown area is compact, easy to get around, and offers a great blend of relaxation and fun with its numerous restaurants, designer shopping, and exciting nightlife. Queenstown’s surrounding environment is awe inspiring and almost unbelievable. A great way to get a feel for the whole area is to hike up or catch the gondola up Bob’s Peak, where the views are spectacular.

It was on a hike up Bob’s Peak on a Friday afternoon in January (one of New Zealand’s summer months) several years ago to catch the sunset, where I first saw Sabrina, an energetic and attractive young teacher on holiday from Canada. We met on the walking trail and struck up a conversation as we traversed steep switchbacks on the way to the summit, both opting for the trail up to the top instead of the gondola ride. Once we reached the summit, we both enjoyed a hard earned pint of Steinlager beer (one of New Zealand’s national brews), while watching the sun sink below the peaks of The Remarkables across the way, sending beams of light bouncing off Lake Wakatipu’s royal blue waters. Sabrina and I hit it off. We had so much in common, and were both traveling alone in Queenstown; so we decided to pair up for the next couple of days.

Following the gondola ride down the mountain, and after freshening up in our respective hotels, Sabrina and I met out for dinner at an adorable outdoor venue right downtown. New Zealand is well known for having 12 times as many sheep than people living there. Not surprising is that lamb is a favorite Kiwi dish. Extremely fresh, tender, and very affordable, the lamb entrees we ordered exceeded our expectations. After a delightful meal, topped off by sampling some quality wines that came from the increasing number of local vineyards popping up in the area, we decided to see if Queenstown’s nightlife was as thrilling as advertised.

After visiting an assortment of pubs and clubs, trying our luck in a small casino, drinking and dancing until the early hours of the morning; we both concluded that Queenstown’s nightlife was amazing. The locals were all so friendly and all the other tourists and travelers were just soaking up the positive vibe that the city seems to send out at all times. Sabrina and I were having such a good time, and I realized that this wasn’t all a dream, it was real. She was real, and she was amazing. I felt a special connection to her, fueled in part by the great energy and beauty of Queenstown.

The night was almost over, but there was still time for just the two of us to stroll down to the shores of Lake Wakatipu. Completely alone, we sat together holding hands on a small sandy beach and watched the stars flicker in the sky. Suddenly the first signs of dawn began to light up the water and mountains around us with incredible blue and pink colors, so soft and always changing. It was at that moment that time was irrelevant, and I felt completely peaceful. As the sun peaked out from the horizon, Sabrina fell asleep in my arms, as my body tingled and my soul smiled. I will never forget that experience, and I always have had a special place in my heart for Sabrina and Queenstown.

By Erik Rasmussen, owner of Erik’s Adventures LLC Travel and Tour Company, world traveler, and outdoor enthusiast. To contact me please visit www.eriksadventures.com, or email me at erik@eriksadvenures.com. Thanks

Desert Safari- Thar Desert, India

Exploring the Thar Desert in Northwest India

It was May 2006, the middle of the hot season a month or more before the Monsoons would arrive. Most travelers were up at hill stations like Simla and Darjeeling, far away to the north and east, in the mountains where they could stay cool. For me, the blistering sun and temperatures over 113 degrees greeted me the moment I stepped off the train in Jaisalmer, a small outpost located in the far eastern portion of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Jaisalmer is located a little more than 50 miles from the boarder with Pakistan, and is affectionately known as the golden city after the distinct golden color of the rocks mined in the surrounding desert and used in the construction of the town. I had traveled over 24 painful hours in steerage class on the Indian railway system, in order to be able to venture out into the more remote reaches of The Great Indian Desert also known as the Thar Desert. My plan was to accomplish this on a camel safari.


Before departing, I spent a day in town to recover from the overnight train ride, and get the safari organized. In Jaisalmer there are many people who want to sell you a safari, and it is easy to get ripped off, or even loose all your money to a “phantom” outfitter, who takes your cash and never shows up for the tour. The best thing to do is go off a recommendation from someone who has had a good experience, or visit an actual tourist office. The guys out in the street trying to pitch you are probably the worst way to get a camel safari organized. I went off advice given to me by some travelers from Sweden I had met a few weeks earlier up in Dharmasala, the home to the exiled Dalai Lama. So, when I first met Anil and sensed he was trustworthy, I knew I had arrived at the right place.

Anil was my guide for a four day camel safari, and he was honest, hardworking, and much to my delight- a very good cook. With three people in our party, three camels, supplies, and over 60 liters of bottled water, we got an early start from a location about 25 miles from Jaisalmer town, where the road ends and the sand begins! The safari turned out to exceed my expectations of an outdoor experience, and there was a real sense of adventure that came with the trip. Our little caravan wound through beautiful desert landscapes and traversed ridges and valleys that switched back and forth between rocky “moonscapes” with sparse vegetation to tall sand dunes and windswept barren plains. On infrequent occasions we would come upon small nomadic settlements consisting of a few dried mud houses, a few goats, perhaps a well, and not much more. The people that lived in these little hamlets were curious about our undertaking and at times followed us for over a mile as we proceeded on. Dressed in long white garments and colorful turbans, nomads herding small groups of scraggly, under nourished goats dotted the landscape from time to time as well. I always wondered to myself how far those men walked each day, and how they put up with the scalding heat carrying no more than a liter of water or even no water at all!

Morning was always a sandy affair, dusting off, changing, and loading up the gear on the camels after a hearty breakfast and a fresh chai cooked over an open fire by Anil. Daytime temperatures typically would get up to 115 degrees or more in the shade. Attempting to combat the heat in the middle of the day was accomplished by trying finding some sliver of shade and doing little more than sitting for a few hours, drinking lots of water, and waiting for the sun to dip a bit lower on the horizon to provide some relief. Late afternoons were usually spent trying to cover some distance to our evening camp either on camel back or on foot out in front of the animals. The nights actually got pleasant when the breeze blew, and sleeping out on a sand dune with nothing but a blanket set out on the sand was one of the most enjoyable aspects of this adventure. Gazing up at the millions of stars that lit up the desert sky each night was a truly intoxicating experience. A small cup of Indian chai made with goats milk, fresh homemade chapatti bread, and curried veggies made the whole thing uniquely Indian.

Some of the things that truly made an impact on me during this trip were sitting by a cooking fire sipping chai with a friendly nomad that wandered over by us who only had one eye. Since we couldn’t speak to each other because my Hindi language skills were close to non existent, we just sat there, contemplated the desert and enjoyed the chai. Another dramatic moment was getting stuck in a pretty heavy sandstorm which completely buried most of our gear, sent the camels running away, kept us up all night, and left me with sand in every conceivable spot imaginable. Getting to know Anil, who shared many stories about his life and experiences out in the desert, and having my hips so sore from sitting on my camel for such a long time were some of the other highlights that rounded out this camel safari.

I often think to myself, I went through all these hardships and discomforts for only about ten dollars a day! In reality, the camel safari was a great way to get intimate with this harsh and remote landscape, while seeing a unique culture of India that hasn’t change much in hundreds of years.

By: Erik Rasmussen
Erik’s Adventures LLC