My New Zealand Adventures: Queenstown

So I started writing my travel post about my recent holiday and very quickly realised that it was going to be outrageously long, so I've decided it will be best for everyone if I break it up into a little mini series. So here is part one of my New Zealand adventures!

Our first stop, and where we stayed the longest was Queenstown. It has to be one of the friendliest, easiest, most beautiful travel destinations I have ever been to.

After a short three hour flight and a 30 minute shuttle we arrived at our apartment overlooking Lake Wakatipu, to say the view was beautiful is an understatement. This was what I woke up to every morning for a week, and I have to say, it is definitely something I could get used to.

 

Most mornings I would sit out on the balcony with my cup of tea and my breakfast. The view really was amazing, I felt like I was just enclosed by these amazing mountains and, depending on the weather, it looked like a new landscape each day. I guess that's the other thing to mention about Queenstown, the weather is very fickle! In our seven days we had sunshine, clouds, rain and we even woke up to snow on the mountains one day, you really do need to pack layers. Or buy new layers, as I did...

Here's my beautiful view after the snow.

 

I would have to say I think Queenstown is one of the most versatile holiday destinations I have ever been to, if you are an adrenaline junkie, a foodie, a girl who loves a pamper, the outdoorsy type or even if you're looking for a family holiday destination, I think you would find what you are looking for in Queenstown.

So what did I get up to on my adventures?? It can probably be summarised with walking, drinking, hiking, biking, eating and shopping.

Let's start with walking! I am not the most outdoorsy of gals, but I don't mind a good walk, especially when there's a beautiful view waiting for me at the top. We headed up Queenstown Hill, about 970m above sea level, it was about a 2-3 hour return walk, I would say of medium difficulty, and so worth it, the views from the top were stunning in every direction. A must do if you are into a good hike! We were planning on tackling the much higher Ben Lomond but the weather got in the way, not to worry, I'm quite sure I will be seeing more of Queenstown in the future, so for now Ben Lomond is still on the to-do list!

 



Now for biking, ...

We headed out to Arrowtown for a day to do some bike riding and sight seeing. We went through Queenstown Bike Tours. I was really impressed with them, we just wanted to do a half day of riding and then just have a stroll around Arrowtown, they picked us up from our Queenstown apartment, took us out to Arrowtown, fitted us out with bikes, helmets and maps, and then drove us home at the end of the day. They were really great.

Also just wanted to mention that I was pretty proud of myself after my bike ride, while I quite like the occasional RPM class,  I haven't actually ridden a real bike since I was probably about 8, and I rode 32km, and did I mention it was hilly?? So that was pretty exciting. It really is a nice way to see the sights, you see more than you would walking and it's nice to be out in the fresh air, my friend Emma started singing songs from The Sound of Music during our little ride, it really was quite a delightful day!

 

 

And of course there was funyaking! "Funyaking?" I hear you ask. Why yes, funyaking.

It's kind of like kayaking, only more fun... This was probably one of my favourite days in Queenstown, we found out about this through one of the Information centres, it was one of the many many outdoorsy options available to us. It involved three components, the first being a jet boat ride up the Dart River, then we got in our little Funyaks and paddled down, and then we finished with a 4WD through the country side where we learnt some history about the area.

Here we are in Glenorchy before our Funyak adventure began.

 

Unfortunately I don't have many photos of this day because my little camera was hidden away in a waterproof bag for most of it! But here is the website incase you're wondering what these inflatable kayaks look like. Did I mention I ended up in the freezing cold river? I was given what I claim to be bad advice from our guide and in an attempt to get out and pull our boat to shore, ended up shoulder deep in the river, apparently it was very entertaining to the rest of the group! Hmm.

 

We were so lucky that our last day in Queenstown had clear skies because we finally had a good day to head up to the gondola and luge. The gondola ride was nice and the view from the top really was breath taking.

 

Then we went on the luge! It was really fun, definitely something kids of all ages would enjoy!

 

Here we are post luge, it was fun, even if I was overtaken by adventurous 5 year olds, oh well!
 

The rest of our time in Queenstown was spent eating, shopping and enjoying things like Farmers markets and strolls around the lake. Here are some more snaps from my adventures...

We went to the Onsen Hot Pools, they are little private spas which overlook the mountains, it was a lovely relaxing way to spend the afternoon after all our physical exertion earlier in the week!

New Years Eve! My first cocktail of the night was at 1876, where we went for dinner, it was quite nice, good food, really great service. 

 

For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to dip my little toes into Lake Wakatipu... Yeah, it really wasn't a good idea, it was freezing. The water just looked so clear and beautiful I couldn't help it! 

 

 

We were also pretty excited about the ice bar, there are actually two in Queenstown! We went to one called Below Zero, if you haven't experienced an ice bar before, it is definitely worth checking out. The entire place, except the floor and ceiling, is made of ice, tables, chairs, cocktail glass, everything! so it's pretty cold in there...

Did I mention the chandelier was ice too? Very fun.

 

And of course, last but not least, here is the food of Queenstown...

Some of the winners for me were Winnies Gourmet Pizza Bar and the famous Fergburger, but my absolute favourite would have to be the Fork and Tap in Arrowtown, if you're in the area, it is definitely one to check out!

Sorry that this post was crazy long, there is just so much to say about Queenstown! My next one will be shorter, promise.

Where have you guys been holidaying recently? I would love to read about it. Leave me a comment below or a link to your blog so I can check it out.

Zoe xx