Queenstown

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We’ve just spent the day in Queenstown. We’re pretty tired from all of the driving that we’ve done since our arrival in New Zealand, so we wanted to make it a low-key stop. We arrived yesterday after our wonderful day in Milford Sound. As I mentioned in that blog, it is a five-hour drive from Milford Sound to Queenstown. We broke up this drive by eating dinner in Te Anau, but we were still pretty tired when we arrived in Queenstown. We walked around the town briefly and went to bed fairly early. The next day we took the Skyline Gondola up to Bob’s Peak, a steep mountain that begins about three blocks from downtown. The peak is fairly high, and because it is so close, it is a breathtaking vantage point of the town and its surroundings. Also while we were up top, all four of us did some luging. It was a lot of fun, and reminded me of the slide ride at Blue Mountain that I used to do long ago when I was a kid. Man it’s too bad they took that away. Anyway, the stop in Queenstown was brief and, for the most part, very relaxing, which is kind of ironic for the adventure capital of the world. It seems like a nice place, but, as is the running theme on this whirlwind tour, we didn’t really stay long enough to get a good feel for the town. We’re now off to Wanaka, only about an hour-drive away. On our drive to Wanaka, we’re going to take the short cut through the Cardrona Valley, which includes a stretch of road that is the highest major road in New Zealand. It is even above the treeline. They say that it is only recommended for competent drivers, but I feel that we are up to the task. We may get our adventure in Queenstown after all.

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Photos

Queenstown From Across Lake Wakatipu
The view of Queenstown across Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown
Eating breakfast and enjoying the view from our balcony.

Skyline Gondola
The view of Queenstown from the observation deck at the Skyline Gondola.

Skyline Gondola
Mom and Dad on their way up for the luge ride.