Queenstown is, to be perfectly honest, sublime. I thought Queensland was good and Christchurch this morning seemed homely, but from the moment the plane banked through the mountain pass to land at the airport, I couldn't help be impressed. Tired, I booked into the hotel and grabbed a couple of hours' sleep, the view outside more reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands than anything else. About 4.30 this afternoon I went for a walk and in practically every direction there's a view. Queenstown sits on a lake surrounded by mountains which catch the mist passing over; to the south there's a particularly large mountain with an observation lounge at the top which could, however, be Dr Evil's lair. So there I was, walking around and taking in view after view of the mountains and lake, and thinking it couldn't get better.

Then the moon came out.

Now that I've finished rhapsodising over the scenery, it's been interesting on the internal flight today to notice how the Lord of the Rings films have made the New Zealand landscape almost iconic. It's impossible to look at the mountains without imagining them as the gates of Mordor, or Gandalf leading a charge across the plains. The snow line is the most distinctive feature- it's getting chilly and Novemberish here so I almost feel as if I should be Christmas shopping, but it's not quite the ski season yet either.

That's enough for now- I have a bottle of duty free Australian rum to try and the local bookshop have, would you believe it, the likes of 'The Slow Empire' and 'Quantum Archangel' for NZ$5 (two quid approx) each.