Queenstown for a Day

Sunday, May 15, 2011
Dunedin, Otago
South Island, NZ

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

Sad as it was to leave Wanaka, we kept the Magic party rolling as we headed for Queenstown on Thursday afternoon. After a sunny morning in Wanaka, we were picked up from the lakeside by Magic Greg, and headed across the Southern Lakes district towards Queentown, the adventure capital of New Zealand, if not the world.

Me and our packs, waiting for the bus in Wanaka. 

Magic makes sure that everyone has a chance to indulge in whatever local activities are available, making bookings on behalf of its passengers and making stops along the way in many unique places. After we turned southeast at Cromwell (and were once again retracing me and Provo's steps from our 2007 trip), we drove into the Kawarau River Gorge, where a wild and beautiful blue-green river flows swiftly between steep rocky cliffs. For any Lord of the Rings fans out there, a section of this gorge very near where we were was used for the "paddling down the river" scene with the giant statues of the kings of old. In this more modern day, we stopped at the historic Kawarau Bridge, which is now the site of one of many bungy jumps around Queenstown. While hurling myself off a bridge headfirst with a bungy rope strapped around my ankles is one of the last things in the world I would ever do (I'd sooner skydive), I was more than happy to watch as a couple of our busmates took the leap, and was amazed by the massive adrenaline rush I got just from thinking about doing such a jump.

It should be noted here at at 43 metres and about a 3-second freefall, the Kawarau jump is the tamest one in the area. The biggest, the Nevis Highwire Bungy, is a jump of 143 metres, with 8 seconds of freefall time. *shudder*

Queenstown was quite a shock to the system after Wanaka. Both are ski-towns this time of year, but Wanaka is smaller, quieter, and generally further off the tourist track, and most tourism companies tend to plug Queenstown as the place to go, especially for young backpackers and adrenaline junkies. I had been to Queenstown before, but still wasn't quite prepared for it to be so  packed to the gills with tourists, and to be so generally commercialized. The entire main drag, Shotover Street, is crammed with as many offices for bungy jumping, jetboating, skydiving, heli-skiing, parasailing, etc. as you could possibly imagine, along with numerous bars and hostels. 

This time of year there is the added element of skiiers and snowboarders awaiting the first big snow of the year. There is a lot of money around Queenstown, and a lot of huge houses and condos, expensive hotels, posh restaurants, and a lot of style. While I felt perfectly at home and comfortable wandering around Wanaka in my zip-offs and hiking boots, I felt extremely under dressed in Queenstown. All of that said, it is an extremely attractive town, and if shopping and adventure sports are your thing, this is heaven on earth. 

There are a lot of amazing old stone buildings here, some really neat design elements in the layout of the city, and the people watching is awesome. The town itself sits on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, the largest lake in New Zealand (and possibly the Southern Hemisphere?), backed by very steep hills, and with a fantastic view of the Remarkables, a steep and rugged mountain range to the southeast. 

We spent our one full day in Queenstown exploring a bit, and also resting, and got lunch from the legendary Fergburger, where the burger we ordered was the size of my face, and probably the best I've ever tasted. Two beef patties, eggs, bacon, avocado, red onion, lettuce, aoili, and probably a couple other ingredients that I can't remember, this epicly huge burger was more than enough lunch for both of us. We had it takeaway, and ate it on a bench by the waterfront, bent over with aoili dripping down onto the pavement! Charming, I'm sure. It was a delicious experience, but somehow so exhausting that I had to go back to the hostel and a take a nap afterwards!

Have I mentioned yet that it was REALLY COLD in Queenstown? And also the nights in Wanaka, but we didn't get much sun in Queenstown, and it was freezing. Not literally, but we still haven't adjusted away from our hot summer up north, and these days with a high of only 45-50F made us bundle up in all the layers we had with us, with scarves and gloves and stocking caps ("beanies"). I think what makes it feel so cold is that Otago is very dry, and dry cold always feels a lot colder than wet cold. 

On Friday evening, we took the Skyline Gondola (which is STEEP) up to the lodge high on Mt. Bob, overlooking Queenstown, and we were really glad we went. The gondola ride itself was fun, the views were amazing, and the lodge itself was incredibly well done. It has a coffee shop, a fancy restaurant, Maori culture shows, a gift shop, a conference/event centre, a big viewing platform, and all manner of entertainment stemming from watching people throw themselves off the Ledge Bungy Jump (one of the only bungys where you can run, jump, or be thrown off the platform in any manner you choose, as opposed to the standard headfirst jump).

 I think this was my favorite feature of the gondola. There is a huge network of mountain bike trails that start at the top of the peak, and the gondolas are fitted to carry bikes to the top. It's an incredibly popular activity, and if you live locally, you can buy an annual pass so you can head up with your bike every day after work and then ride back down to town!

 Sheep grazing under the gondola track as we rode up. 

Lake Wakatipu from above. That little smudge in the middle is the steamship S.S. Earnslaw, which does cruises down the lake to a sheep station where you can participate in shearing and sheepdog trials. One of Queenstown's tamer activities...

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the hilltop lodge for a couple of hours, watching the bungy-ers, enjoying a coffee, and having fun watching the incredible diversity of visitors to the skyline. 

 Coffee and cribbage high above Queenstown. If you know cribbage and I tell you that the two close lanes are mine (and that we drive on the left here in New Zealand), you'll notice that I'm beating Matt. This was after the first two hands of the game. He has beaten me almost every time we've played in New Zealand, and I'm happy to report that on this particular occasion, he was skunked by yours truly :) 

Our purpose of going up the peak late in the day was to see the sunset and the lights of town at night. We didn't get much of a sunset due to the thick cloud cover, but we did get some epic views of Queenstown by night. I'm really really glad we did this with our short time in Queenstown- I think we enjoyed it more than we could possibly have enjoyed anything else.

City lights, Lake Wakatipu, and the Remarkables behind.

Back Online

Hey everyone- the Blogger application managed to crash for the last few days, so I haven't done any posting or writing about Queenstown or our journey down to Dunedin, where we are today. I'll be back with more updates and photos soon, but in the meantime, go on over to Matt's blog to read a bit about our recent adventures.

And just to make y'all smile, here's something we found back in Hokitika:

Matt says Steve Urkel had this car. And also, the door is the front of the car.

Wanaka in Photos

Thursday, 12 May, 2011
Wanaka, Central Otago

I don't have much of a narrative for Wanaka, because we've spent the majority of our time here just gaping at the scenery, walking around town, hanging out with the awesome folks staying at our backpackers, watching movies with fifteen of us flopped all over the lounge every night, and even managed to fit in a couple job applications along the way. The company here has been very good. We've become particular friends with Paul and Kim, a British couple of the rock-climbing and hiking persuasion, who we shared a dorm with back in Franz Josef. They are driving on their own, but we recommended this hostel to them, and they showed up here the evening after us, and will be heading for Queenstown today like us, and may stay in the same backpackers again- it's fun to keep meeting up with the same people at every stop!

Because Wanaka is best told in photos, that's what the rest of this post will be. Some from walking around town two days ago, some from the four-hour hike we did around the lake yesterday. I can say with complete confidence that I have absolutely loved being in this breathtakingly beautiful and comfortable place.

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

 Matt snapped this with the zoom lens, from the viewpoint above town. 

How cool is that?

 Hiking along the south bank of Lake Wanaka yesterday afternoon. 

 Hiking back to town. Autumn is my favorite season, and I'm definitely getting my fix!

 Massive thorns on a native plant called Matagouri. This was the stuff we battled through during the muster at Spray Point Station. I think gnarly is the appropriate adjective. 

 Sunrise above the mountains. This was the view from the deck of our hostel when I got up this morning. 

 Ruby Island, Wanaka, and Mt. Iron behind, from the far side of the lake. 

 Everywhere we go, there are rose bushes loaded with bright red rosehips, just adding to the beauty of the countryside here. 

 View from town yesterday morning. I want to remember this forever. 

I hope I come back here someday.

East of the Mountains

8:30 AM, Thursday, 12^th May, 2011

Wanaka, Central Otago

South Island, New Zealand

We’ve spent the last few days in the amazingly beautiful town of Wanaka (WAH-nah-kah), where we both agree we’ve felt more comfortable and at home than almost anywhere else we’ve been so far. Packed to the brim with backpackers who are into outdoor pursuits, we fit right in, and the place is so quiet this time of year and the colors so insanely beautiful, that we’ve spent the majority of our time relaxing and just soaking up the views. 

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

It’s been mostly sunny and gorgeous here since we arrived, but our trip over from Franz Josef was another matter, foggy and/or pouring rain until we turned inland. We took off early, driving south along the West Coast, passing Fox Glacier, which we couldn’t see because the fog came right down the highway, and a made a stop at Lake Matheson, one of the South Island’s famous mirror lakes. We all hiked out around the lake, but unfortunately it wasn’t particularly still that day and due to the thick fog we didn’t get the amazing reflected views of Mt. Cook and the other peaks that were hidden behind it somewhere.

 With some other Magic-ers at Lake Matheson

Further south along the coast, we finally popped out into the sunshine (it lasted about 15 minutes), stopping at a viewpoint where we had these incredible views of the rugged coast:

We’ve both been loving traveling with Magic, it has far exceeded our expectations, we are learning loads, and having a great time with the hilarious drivers and our fellow riders. Having pre-booked, it’s the easiest thing in the world, and we’re already well settled into the routine of early-morning pick-ups, chucking our packs into the cargo bay under the bus, and settling in for the comical but educational commentary about the sights we’re seeing and the activities and accommodation available at our destination.

 Somewhere on the West Coast...

Note the bus mascot, a bungy-jumping Kiwi

At the very small town of Haast, we turned east and began the climb over Haast Pass, on one of the only roads that crosses through the Southern Alps. The terrain and views reached a new level of grandeur and we all got cricks in our necks, craning to see the tops of the amazingly steep and massive mountains rising straight up off the valley floor, their hillsides scattered with waterfalls and rock faces, their peaks dancing in and out of the mist, seemingly miles above the braided rivers below. The thing about the terrain and scenery here that really gets me is the steepness, and the sheer magnitude of the mountains, how suddenly they shoot upward and how much bulk they have; no gentle slopes here!

Into the Misty Mountains....

We made a photo stop at Thunder Creek Falls, a beautiful three tiered falls, of which this is only the bottom tier:

Crossing over Haast Pass, we passed out of Westland and entered the region of Otago (oh-TAHG-oh), and the scenery was immediately different when we started downhill. Land of huge wide glacial valleys and immense lakes, Otago is a much drier and much less forested region, and almost the instant we drove across the summit, we passed from under the massive cloud hovering over the west coast, and into clear blue skies and brilliantly bright sun.

At Lake Hawea, we stopped to let our jaws drop for awhile at the new dark blue-green color of the lake, the steep slopes on the far side, and the gorgeousness of the reflective lake on the gorgeous clear afternoon.

I still can't get over it. Look at those colors!

We pulled into Wanaka around 2:30 PM on Monday, and as Matt and I disembarked at the I-Site by the waterfront park, Matt spotted a group of folks around our age, slacklining in the park. We made a beeline for them, and Matt introduced himself and asked if he could have a turn- he’s been deprived of it for the last eight months :)

And I gaped at the views over Lake Wanaka, and snapped these photos in the afternoon sun:

Note the paraglider right in the center of the photo. Wanaka and Queenstown are packed to the gills with adventure activities of every type.

All in all, it boded well for our time in Wanaka!