Ahh love. That feeling that can either lift you up into the heavens to keep company with the doves and butterflies (released earlier to celebrate your love), or put you down in the depths of despair with all the other love-less and downtrodden souls unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of a shit situation. Poetic right? William Shakespeare would be proud.
If you’re visiting or living in a resort town, there’s a good chance you’ll experience both ends of the yard stick. If you’re here for a good time and not a long time, hopefully it’s the positive end rather than the negative. But hey, people have been known to have their hearts broken in 24hrs or less – at least that’s what we’ve gathered from reality TV in recent times.
Queenstown is a melting pot of people even in the quiet times, and there’s a pretty good chance one of your potential soulmates is cruising through town at the same time you are. But you’re not going to meet them if you stay tucked inside and out of harms way. Grab that frisbee and go for a round of frisbee golf in the park, chat to the other people on your bungy tour, and get yourself a 6-pack and go sit by the beach. Tinder, Grindr (because it’s 2017), and any other social apps are great options sure, but just remember: you already have something in common with everyone else here – you’re in New Zealand, you’re in Queenstown, and you probably came here for pretty similar reasons.
If you’re here for longer, there are no shortage of seasonaires and local legends to meet, not to mention all of the visitors that come through and could well be that significant other. We have 3 words of warning though in this tale of love though:
- Get used to goodbyes. There’s plenty of people here for long term, but they’re few and far between. So the love of your life might only be here for the weekend. Keep a box of kleenex and bar of chocolate handy, as you may need ’em.
- Be wary of bringing relationships to resort towns. In our experience, relationships that start in resort towns tend to be pretty strong in the long run. Relationships brought to resort towns will often fail on a more regular basis than other places. Temptation is everywhere, and can be a real test for couples that maybe haven’t had such a ‘choice’ presented to them before.
- Lastly and most unfortunately, Queenstown is the Southern Hemisphere STD capital. This is not a title we’re proud of, but it is none-the-less a title you should be wary of. The only thing you should be taking home are photos and memories, not the clap. Don’t be a fool, wrap your tool.
So get out there, get involved, and give yourself an opportunity to expand yourself and your love life. Just don’t bring them back to the hostel if you’re in a dorm room! You paid for yourself, not your significant-other-for-the-night, and you’ll end up finding out the hard way that accommodation can be hard to come by when you find yourself out of yours for breaking the rules! 😉
