We were interested to discover what cultural veins could be tapped in this resort town full of tourists taking in the wonderful scenery and experiencing the many outdoor, adventure pursuits available. Intellectual pursuits are not really what Queenstown is mainly known for.
However the library begs to differ. It has a wide choice of reading material and is obviously a real asset for the town.
Where would we find the poetry? (Apart from the poem by David Eggleton that ribbons its way around the lakes's stone wall?)
Some members of the Queenstown writing group (the Real Alchemists) were present at the reading as well as others who aren't writers, but who were there because they simply loved poetry and welcomed the opportunity to hear it being read 'live'.
Our Outrider philosophy of taking poetry to outlying areas and discovering the poetry there, was well and truly achieved. It was especially gratifying to hear one of the audience members state, "Don't forget us ones out here on the edge of things". That right there, is what J&K Rolling Outrider Tours is all about.
Queenstown surprised and delighted. We felt as if we had struck gold, not only in the beautiful calm and sunny weather, the stunning autumn colours and the beauty of the place (which quite frankly, we'd expected) but also by finding a heart-beat there that many others in their pursuit of more commercial, touristy aspects, do not hear.
