David & Lina Stock

Hi! We have been traveling together since 2001 and have visited all 7 continents, multiple times. We started traveling together while both working full time corporate jobs until 2013 when we decided to quit our jobs and travel full time for the next 4 years. We started this blog and a media business alongside it, which is now our full time jobs. We love traveling to every corner of the planet so that we can photograph and share the stories of this world with you. Doing this has made us both award-winning photographers and writers. We hope we're able to help you travel more, and inspire you to visit places you might not have had on your bucket list.
Fergburger Queenstown

Interview with a Fergburger Waitress: Queenstown, New Zealand

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The locals will say you haven’t actually visited Queenstown until you have stood in the queue and eaten at Fergburger.  We wanted to make sure we earned our right of passage while in Queenstown, so we made it an afternoon and headed to the infamous Fergburger.

First impressions are that it’s a hole in the wall burger joint located on a busy street near all the clubs in Queenstown. I guess this impression isn’t too far off but the place does impress with the mass amounts of people that flock in for their famous burgers.

After placing our order and then devouring (almost finishing) both our burgers, we decided to catch up with one of the waitresses and find out what it’s like to work at such a busy burger joint in a place like Queenstown.

Fergburger Queenstown
The Fergburger and the Camera…

 

Who are you and where are you from?

My name is Frankie and I am from England. I was traveling through New Zealand and came to Queenstown, I remember at that time thinking it was an amazing place and that I definitely wanted to return and work here when I was done traveling at the time.
 

Of all the places to work in Queenstown, why Fergburger?

I love working at Fergburger, seriously one of the coolest jobs I’ve ever had. Lots of my friends say to me ‘How can you work here? It’s so crazy’ but I absolutely love it. I love the people and have met so many cool people while working here.

What’s your favorite Fergburger?

Well, I’m a vegetarian! But the most popular is the Southern Swine. I can literally tell you everything about every burger but hands down the most orders we process are for the Southern Swine.
 

Is it weird working at a burger place and being a vegetarian?

No, I’m not bothered by it at all. Some people that are vegetarians would be offended, but for me, I choose to be a vegetarian and those that want to eat meat don’t bother me.
 

We know that Queenstown is known for it’s nightlife and Fergburger is open pretty late. What is the craziest thing you have ever seen while working the late shift? 

So many times working the night shift, like so many people just lying on the floor, lying on the street, running into cars, knocking themselves out, fighting. People literally get so drunk here and McDonald’s and Fergburger are literally the only places open in the middle of the night, so we have seen it all.
 

Do people come in late and place crazy orders?

Yes, people come in and order loads of stuff, with no clue of what they have ordered and then they just run away.  We require that everyone pays when they place their order because people literally will order things and leave, all the time. Even now that people pay when they order, we see loads of orders left behind.  One time a guy ordered 2 Big Al’s and 2 orders of fries, all for himself and he was so wasted he couldn’t even stand up and he just stood there and devoured the whole order!
 

Who is the most famous person you have seen at Fergburger?

Do you know who Heather Mills is? She’s married to Paul McCartney. I met her here once. Johnny Depp ordered a burger here the other day, obviously, he didn’t come in, but one of his people picked the burger up for him. Lots of non-famous people come in here; half of them we don’t know at the time but then later hear they were here.  We get a lot of professional skiers in the winters that are famous Olympians.
 

Favorite thing about working at Fergburger?

Hands down the people. We meet so many amazing people working here and everyone is so happy and singing. There is a lot of joking and banter that goes on and the managers are so quality as well.  It’s good that it’s busy, you can be here all day and before you know it, you’re at the end of your shift.
 

What is the weirdest Fergburger order you have seen?

Oh yeah, I put one together once that was a Double Big Al with Cockadoodle Oink, fish and it had a bulls-eye on it. It was literally a foot tall and I thought it was disgusting. We couldn’t even wrap it; we had to wrap it in foil all the way up.  People also mix the sauces up a lot too, we see everything here.
 
Fergburger Queenstown

 So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Fergburger seems like a pretty cool place to work and you definitely shouldn’t miss a visit to this place if you find yourself in Queenstown.

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Skydive Taupo Tandem Skydiving

Skydiving in New Zealand- Our First Skydive!

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The door of the plane opened. I was sitting on the front bench so I had an unparalleled view of the landscape from my seat.  We were at 12,000 feet and the 3 people sitting in front of me were getting ready to leave the plane.

After the first 2 training jumpers left the plane, I started to get that feeling of ‘what did I sign up for?’ The last of the jumpers at 12,000 feet left the plane and the door came down. My tandem master patted me on the shoulder as he reached around to show me his meter. We were headed up to 15,000 feet and I was about to do my very first skydive jump with Taupo Tandem Skydiving in New Zealand.

There was nobody left sitting in front of me. It was just me and the door that would open again once we reached 15,000 feet, my heart started to pound in anticipation as the plane climbed higher into the sky.

At this point, I transitioned into a surreal state, not really able to process what I am doing as the door opens and my camera guy leaves the plane. My tandem Master then moved me towards the door and there I was sitting on the edge. Nothing but air between me and the vast openness of the sky.

Still sitting on the edge of the door, he points towards a camera and I smile into the camera while giving the peace sign for my exit photo.  Without any time to process things, he pulls back my head, gives me the thumbs up and promptly drops us both out the door of the plane.

Skydive Taupo Tandem Skydiving

I know what you are thinking, who would jump out of a perfectly good plane? But skydiving is one of the ultimate thrills you can have in life. IT is a sport that was invented in New Zealand and Taupo Tandem Skydiving has been taking people up into the skies over Lake Taupo for 22 Years.

From the time we arrive at the drop zone we were well looked after. They walked us through all the necessary paperwork then sent us out to the hanger to get fitted for our jumpsuits, hats, oxygen masks and goggles.  The hanger is very alive and busy with people rolling parachutes and tense people milling about.

We would be going up with a group of people that were in training for their master status and one other girl that was jumping for the first time. As we hung out on the couches, we were told to step outside and watch the group before us as they jumped out of the plane above us.

This got my heart racing with a mix of nerves and excitement.  It wouldn’t be long now, and I would be up there about to do this crazy thing of recreation. As they landed, the tandem masters rushed in to prepare for the next jump and meet us.  I would be in the capable hands of Patrik for my jump.

Patrik was great at making sure that I was suited up correctly and that my harness was adjusted appropriately. He grabbed a new parachute, hooked a strap between us and off we walked to the airplane.  We ended up sitting on the front of the bench next to the door.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, as it meant I would be one of the first ones out of the plane.  I had to make peace with the fact that I was jumping out of that plane no matter where I would be sitting, so I sucked it up and nervously stared out the window. There was only one way out of this plane now and the option was from 15,000 feet.

Skydive Taupo Tandem Skydiving

The ride up seemed slow, I think the anticipation of it all just made the 15 minutes up seem like forever. You get that feeling that now that you are in the plane, let’s just get on with it and jump out. I think that is the contributor to the flight up feeling so long.

We made it to 15,000 feet and out we jumped. It is hard to put in words the feeling of jumping out of a plane. It is thrilling, terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Your stomach drops out as you embrace the weightless feeling you get.

The free fall from 15,000 feet is 60 seconds and seems like forever. The air was crisp that day but we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful, clear day. You could see all of the Taupo areas from that vantage point, all the way to the volcanoes. Nothing I have seen in my life compares to it.

When we were through with free-falling, Patrik pulled the parachute cord and the World became silent. Free-falling through the sky is chaotic and loud, but the minute that parachute opens, you get that sensation of nothingness.  We floated gracefully through the air taking in the views.

We landed smoothly as he told me to put my legs up and then just stand up. Our timing was so good I was actually able to stand up for the landing and land on my feet.  Not an easy feat according to Partrik.

Skydiving is absolutely amazing. If you can manage to get yourself in that airplane, it will be something you will not regret in life. Now that we have done it, we both plan to jump again in the near future.

Skydive Taupo Tandem Skydiving

 

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Disclosure: We were guests of Taupo Tandem Skydiving. All opinions are 100% mine. All photos and video courtesy of Taupo Tandem Skydiving and owned by 8 Wonders of the World.

8 Wonders of the World- Adventure Travel Blog