Queenstown - City of Horror

Help.

I am trapped in a hostel in Queenstown.
Get me out of here.

The whole story from the beginning?
Alright then.

The day started off pretty well in Wanaka: it was already warm in the morning, so I was glad I didn't have to stand on the street.

On the way to Queenstown, we passed by some beautiful lookouts, the landscape with the mountains and valleys was simply tempting.
And then we arrived in Queenstown in the late morning.

Heaven help.

It was comparable to my first impressions of Auckland: too many people, too much traffic, it was hectic, loud, crowded, and hot.
In the hostel, I could only drop off my things and then I had to go out again.
If you've been in sleepy villages like Franz Josef for the past few days, you suddenly get a real shock in Queenstown. So many streets, people, shops, everything. It was overwhelming, and not in a good way.

But I told myself that I would walk around a bit first, get a better feel for the city.

So I walked down to the harbor. On the way, one thing in particular caught my attention: the streets were full of booking agencies trying to sell you activities at the best prices.
Annoying.

And even at the harbor itself, there were only stands with offers for boat tours, jet skis, jet boating, and all that.
I mean, the view of the lake and the mountains was beautiful, but the overall situation was just very stressful for me.
There is a short path along the water where I could catch some fresh air.

Then I threw myself back into the hustle and bustle. I could also check in at the hostel by now.
The hostel was super cheap, for a very specific reason, and I knew what I was getting into. After all, I had already stayed with this chain before. But still: the room stinks, the kitchen is dirty, and there are way too many people in the hostel.
So the accommodation doesn't contribute to the overall situation.

A small bright spot was meeting up with my girls. They were still hungover from the night before, and it's especially fun to go out to eat with them.
The three of them got huge sugar shakes and burgers at the "best burger joint" in New Zealand. More like the burger joint with the longest line and the most expensive burgers, if you ask me...

But they had to leave at some point too, so I just went shopping. Fortunately, someone gave me a lift to a cheap supermarket, because the two in town are also super expensive. What a surprise.
Not.

For the rest of the day, I'll just lie on the bed, feel sorry for myself, eat, and devour a whole bar of chocolate because I feel sorry for myself.

I want to get out of this city!

That's pretty much my plan for the next few days:
Tomorrow I'm going hiking to get as far away from this city as possible.
On Tuesday, I booked a pretty cool tour to Fjordland, and I'll come up with something for Wednesday too.
One thing is for certain: I will never come back to Queenstown. Never!