Waking up in Queenstown

Waking up and knowing that I am about to step out again into Queenstown is a heart-warming feeling, it makes me smile just to walk out of the door to views of the mountains around us with the gleaming lake below. Amazing. The air is so clean here and although its a tourist location seems quiet and rural… The town nestles on the edge of the lake feeding off its natural wonders with Jet boats occasionally blasting across the waves daring the adventurous to keep down their dinners on the roller coaster ride, Bungee jumpers are encouraged to throw themselves with abandon at the scenery far below without a care in the world or screeching with delight ;), Mountain bikers are taken by gondola to the top of the hill let loose to cycle adventurously back down the trails, Para-gliders are taken for a ride over the town on thermals (so long as you meet the weight limit!!) and the more adventurous are attached to a sky diver and sent screaming from planes at 9-15,000ft only to sit in stunned stupor at various cafes and bars on landing after the adrenaline wears off… Wow… As I say this place is amazing.
Today I have organised my transport - unable to pay for a car I have opted to use public transport. A company running ‘Inter-City’ buses charges $369 for a 20 trip open ticket and this should allow me to complete ALL of the runs between locations for the next 30 days and has the option to use trips to pay for excursions - I opt for Milford Sounds costing 2 trips for Wednesday… Then off to get a scenic view from the gondola station at the top of the hill behind Queenstown - A quick return ride to the top $25 (or more if you want to ride the Luge at the top) is enough to confirm what I already knew - Queenstown is one of the most idyllic places that I have ever seen and somewhere that I would move to and live out the rest of my life in peace if I could - Awesome *-*
Returning to reality I descend back from the spectacular views to the lake only to find a bird sanctuary with Kiwi’s (which are fed three times a day) - but be aware that there are no prices on the gate and when you ask it is $38/£20 entry!!
Dilemma - Lots of activities to do and only small budget to accommodate these (although reserve fund exists)… I would absolutely love to learn to Paraglide ($790 for 4 day course) but know that this will put a HUGE dent (erm i mean HOLE) in funds for rest of the trip… So opt instead for a horse ride $169 for morning LOTR ride (1½ hours in the saddle) for tomorrow. This should allow for Glacial Heli-hiking at Franz Joseph $400ish. After all this is a country that I plan to return to more regularly as funds allow :)