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Published: January 15th 2013
On 3/1 we said goodbye to Auckland and flew to Queenstown with Air Asia. The flight was 3 hours delayed and even then we missed the call for the flight but we made it in the end. John and Andrea had flown out there the previous day and had warned us about the cold weather but we were not expecting snow on the mountains and cold weather after the sun and beaches in Auckland only 1hr 45mins away!
We caught the connectabus from the airport to downtown Queenstown and were surprised to find a pretty town set next to a huge, beautiful lake (Wakatipu Lake) that looked and felt like an alpine village with a definate 'apres ski' feel about it.
Unfortunately we hadn't booked the 4star Rydges Hotel with John and Andrea and instead had our first experience as back packers at X-Base, Queenstown!
The location was excellent, right in the middle of town and the room was a double with private en-suite so it wasn't too bad.
It was weird sharing the other facilities with teenagers and students but we all got along fine! The only problem was the noise from the street from midnight
Flight into Queenstown
Good job we took fleeces!until about 4am. Queenstown is party town and the bars and clubs emptied in the early hours and the party goers all seemed to head for a 'Ferg burger' at the burger joint opposite our room. The hostel had a disco downstairs called 'Altitude' which is where the England Rugby Team threw dwarfs and where Mike Tyndall famously kissed a girl after a few drinks. It was a lively place!
We needed a few ourselves to help us sleep and we soon found the cheapest pub in town (1879 Bar) where beer was $3 a pint! Elsewhere they were $8.
Most days Annie and I would go walking ... or go 'tramping' as the locals call it up into the hills or around the lake and then meet up with John and Andrea later for dinner and a few drinks. One day we walked about 10 miles to Frankton and another day walked to the top of the mountain on the Tiki trail. This was a long, steep, forest trail in lovely sunny weather which Annie managed with little 'huffing' or 'puffing!' Our new walking shoes had survived their first real test - Thank you Charlotte! The view
from the top of Ben Lomond mountain overlooking the town was awesome and we felt pleased with ourselves as most other people had taken the gondola ride up to the top where we had walked.
(It was also $25 each in the gondola!)
It was a beautiful, scenic place and the weather improved so much that we were able to sunbath in the bay and I swam in the lake. We also ventured up to a town called Arrowtown where they still prospect for gold in the mountain streams and watched the idiots bungee jumping from a bridge nearby.
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