Blogs from Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 133

Mountains, Mountains Everywhere Australasia » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown By kaleen185June 13th 2006Kaleen NoraWell, we left Christchurch today and drove to Queenstown. It was such a long drive because of the snow but it was very scenic. Mountains were always in the background with fields and farms in the front. Very pretty. Queenstown is so precious! It is a little city on a lake surrounded by mountains. I've never been anywhere like this. I am so excited to explore the city. Word has it that Queenstown is the adventure capital of NZ. ... read more

Hey all, we have been doing the saddo thing of noticing on the map where all the lord of the rings filiming has been done - not that much of a fan to know or remember where they were in the film, or what they should look like, but still its fun! We are in Queenstown this morning, and its like a little sking village, we are heading over to the west coast today, and then up to the north of the south island. Yesterday we visited a gold mine and panned for gold - no luck though, and we got cold hands!!! Then we had scones and jam and cream to warm upa bit!! Then we drove to queenstown, and intended to stay at a place called glenorchy, so when we drove down the 40km ... read more

Day 5: Lake Tekapo Lake Tekapo is a tiny village right on the lake shore and with only a handful of shops. We drove over six hours, so were very happy to come across a great pizza place - Pepe’s, recommended through Lonely Planet. An open fire added to the cosy atmosphere. On waking up we marvelled at the fantastic view of the lake, with a beautiful blue colour and fog lying across the lake in feathery tendrils. There were only three or four other people in the whole place, which consists of caravan, camping, cabins, backpacker and motel accommodation - all just above the lake shore. We were glad the proprietor upgraded us to a motel unit although his only motive was to save us from the cold! We certainly noticed the freezing air, and ... read more

Well, i hear you all cry what becomes of those two intrepid explorers who havent blogged for a while. As is the case at the moment work if you can get it, and not much at all if you cant. I'm still busying myself cleaning and liqour kinging (aren't i always) and slowly but surely getting funds rolling into the bank. I have however handed in my notice and will work up untill the end of June, before enjoying the Winter festival that comes to QTNZ (lots of activities and parties from what we can gather) and moving onto wellington. Not before time too i think, as although Queenstown is a nice place to come to, if you're working and not doing any of the spine tingling activities (i've done none even after 2 months - ... read more

Passing along the Crown Range Road, through the Cardrona Valley I detoured slightly to the small settlement of Arrowtown to soak up some of the local history at the Lakes District Museum, and later continued on to Queenstown. Surrounded by majestic mountains on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is no doubt New Zealand's most popular and commercialised year-round resort. The town (population 10,000) boasts adventure in all forms, from the extreme to relaxed. I opted for the latter and headed out to the quiet and supremely picturesque hamlet of Glenorchy, named after Glen of Orchy, Scotland. The whole area, including an homestead called Paradise, has been deemed stunning enough to act as movie back-drops for the Rockies, the European Alps and Middle Earth!! I managed to get a fantastic feel of the place by exploring ... read more