Queenstown

I've posted heaps about our summer trip to New Zealand with Nani and Papi (Rob and Rhona). We visited Auckland, Christchurch, Milford Sound and Lake Wanaka. Our final stop in the Land of the Long White Cloud was Queenstown.

As noted in a previous post, Queenstown is built around Lake Wakatipu and, though not very high above sea level, is surrounded by mountains for great skiing (so we've heard; we were there in December / summer!). Adventurers flock to Queenstown for skiing, snowboarding, jet boating, white water rafting, bunny jumping, mountain biking, paragliding, sky diving and so much more.

We had a few days in town and it was amazing. Great food, lots to see, shopping galore, and so much to do. We spent an entire day on Bob's Peak. Though I'm sure it's a spectacular and challenging hike to the top via the Tiki Trail, we opted for the gondola ride. 

Aaron and Micah on the gondola!

Marketing material for the gondola notes, "When you get to the top of the Gondola you are rewarded with some of Queenstown’s most spectacular views. From Bob’s Peak you can see Coronet Peak to the north and the iconic Remarkables mountain range to the east, both of which are ski resorts in the winter. Across the deep blue waters of Lake Wakatipu to the southwest you see Cecil and Walter Peaks. It’s truly awe-inspiring!" Yep.

Our original purpose for venturing up Bob's Peak was to ride the luge. We figured we'd each do a ride or two and then head back down. 

Have you ever luged? I hadn't and it was a ridiculous BLAST! Our plan turned itself upside down and we ended up each riding 3+ times. We had lunch up top, visited the Jelly Belly shop and luged until our pockets were empty. That is some fun stuff!

To get to the luge track you get to take a chair lift. That was just as fun as the luge!

E and I taking a selfie on the chairlift!

This photo so accurately captures Micah, IMO - his incredible love of life and adventure!

At the top of the chairlift you divide into lines based on which course you plan to do - the blue or red track. The blue track is described as "a leisurely ride with gentle gradient, easy bends, tunnels and dips, " while "the red track has a steeper gradient and is a more adventurous ride with the thrill of banked corners, tunnels, dippers and cuttings."

All riders start on the blue track. On your first ride, you're given instructions and you have to pass a "test" to ensure you know how to work the luge. Your hand gets marked denoting you've passed the test and can ride wherever you'd like from then on.

Papi took Micah down the blue track!

Eytan rode solo down the blue track; I was meant to stay near him and totally failed. Aaron rescued him. Luckily he had a blast despite my parenting fail!

We let Aaron ride solo a few times!

We did more than just luge, but this was a highlight for most of us. From Queenstown we said goodbye to New Zealand. Or maybe just "see ya later!" We returned to Sydney just in time to ring in 2018 and play in the sun for a few days until our next trip. Stay tuned for more!

Lake Wanaka (via Queenstown)

Queenstown is built around Lake Wakatipu and, though not very high above sea level, is surrounded by mountains for great skiing (we've heard; we were there in December / summer!). Adventurers flock to Queenstown for skiing, snowboarding, jet boating, white water rafting, bunny jumping, mountain biking, paragliding, sky diving and so much more.

The grownups all noted a familiarity in Queenstown that reminded us of Aspen, Colorado. Turns out Queenstown and Aspen are sister cities!

Queenstown from above

We ate delicious food, flew on a prop plane to Milford Sound for a day cruise around the Sound, golfed, rode a gondola and went on a luge, worked our logic at puzzling world, swam in Lake Wanaka, enjoyed our resort and so much more!

I (Julie) had a ridiculous bucket list item to drive to Lake Wanaka to find the marker for the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and south pole. I had researched which road to take, what the sign looked like and had a general idea when we were close. All that way and we never saw the sign 😢. We later learned it was on the opposite side of the road for the cars driving south to Queenstown (vs. north from Queenstown). Sigh.

Here I am in 2015 at the 45th parallel NORTH sign on our most recent trip to Northern Michigan. It's Harwin family tradition to stop at the sign for a photo!

We stopped at Puzzling World and, holy moly, the guys could've spent the entire day there! Brain teasers, illusions, mazes, puzzles and more.

The Great Maze! There are four coloured checkpoints in corners to complete the maze + finding the exit. Whoa!

Not all of us made it through the Great Maze. We split into a few "teams" but eventually some of us bailed. Others completed the quest. Kudos!

After several hours at Puzzling World, we continued on to Lake Wanaka. Stunning! 

Photo courtesy of Tourism New Zealand

The area has been described as "outstanding natural beauty." It did not disappoint! The focal point of the area for me was the fresh water lake. We quickly changed into swimming cossies (translation: swimsuits) and waded into the cool, refreshing water. I ventured out to a small floating pontoon while the boys splashed in the lake with Nani.

We walked around town a bit after swimming, grabbed some dinner (met some Americans / Wolverine fans!) and wrapped up our day. The journey back to Queenstown was a white knuckle drive filled with hairpin turns and stunning views. Every time the passengers gasped at the beauty, I freaked out as the driver. 

These pictures will never do this part of the world justice. Just know (in my opinion) it's worth every ounce of energy, day off work and dollar saved to get there.

We made it safely back to Queenstown, climbed into bed and prepared for another wonderful day...

Milford Sound (via Queenstown)

From Christchurch we journeyed to Queenstown, an incredible resort town known for great skiing and extreme adventure.

Our first full day we were scheduled to fly from Queenstown to Milford Sound, cruise around the sound and then fly back home. Ballers! It's quite a drive from Queenstown to the Sound and I'd heard incredible things about the flight (plus a HUGE time saver). It took a lot (A LOT) of convincing to get 5/6 of us on board that plane (with the other 1/6 opting instead to golf with no regrets!). Flights are able to operate about 200 days / year, so they like you to book in for your first full day in Queenstown. That way if weather cancels your trip there's still flexibility to go another day.

Milford Sound is an easy-to-miss-from-the-sea fiord having initially been overlooked by European explorers and Captain James Cook. Its narrow entry from the sea doesn't appear to lead to such a large interior bay. Milford Sound is known for towering Mitre Peak, plus rainforests and waterfalls like Stirling and Bowen falls, which plummet down its sheer sides. The fiord is home to fur seal colonies, penguins and dolphins.

Our pilot told us the cruise around the Sound would be lovely but in reality, the flight would be the most spectacular part. I could not agree more!

We scored with weather! We had the most spectacular clear skies and calm winds on our way to Milford Sound. Our pilot happily noted they get two days / year like that. I will never in my life be able to describe in words the beautiful, pristine, untouched incredibleness we saw from the sky and sea.

Our 16-seater plane!

View from inside the plane

Aaron and the boys on the 3-seat couch at the back of the plane

That other plane was our pilot's dad and his passengers

And some from the cruise!

Beautiful sights from the cruise

Seal rock 

It was a bit chilly on the Sound!

With my mini-me

We snagged some American goldfish crackers at a local shop! And the boys totally represented their American roots with their Detroit sports team gear <3. 

The flight back to Queenstown wasn't nearly as smooth but it was equally as beautiful. Nani even got to fly co-pilot on the way back!

While 5/6 of us did the fly-cruise-fly day, Papi chose to tackle the Queenstown Golf Club! He was thrilled to have the opportunity to play such a beautiful course. We missed him, but we were all happy that everyone found special activities that suited them!

This was only one day in Queenstown. Lots more about Queenstown and surrounding towns next...!