Kea Point

My final stop of the day back towards ground level was a short detour to Kea Point. Unfortunately no Kea's to be seen today but as ever great views of the mountains!
A Restful Morning

After a tiring couple of days hiking I thought I'd take today at a slower pace, especially since the skies were clouded and grey! Mid-morning I thought I'd take to a nearby track that I was yet toЧитать далее
Arriving in Wanaka

At 2:30pm I took two buses to Wanaka which arrived at around 5:30pm. After checking in I headed out for a chippy tea and a couple of apple juices. The waterfront was unexpectedly busy which made for aЧитать далее
Biking

This morning I rose early-ish and headed to the supermarket. After signing up to their clubcard scheme to save myself a fortune I sat down near the prom to enjoy a chocolate twist pastry.
After offЧитать далее
Wanaka Tree

En route to the hike I stopped off at the famous Wanaka Tree. It's a tree near the shore of the lake but is a huge tourist attraction!
Roy's Peak Ascent

After locking up my bike I began the ascent up to Roy's Peak! 8km to the top with 1,258m of elevation gain. The tracks on this occasion were sloped (no steps) and well surfaced. I also bumped into aЧитать далее
Roy's Peak

I eventually reached the peak which made for a perfect spot for lunch! It was rather windy at times so I layered up with my coat. My ham had actually inflated due to the air pressure change and I alsoЧитать далее
Cycling Back into Town

I was blown back into town with the wind now behind me, but made sure to stop a few times en route to enjoy the view.
I took a different route back along the marked 'cycle path' however the start ofЧитать далее
Morning Walk

I had a relatively relaxed morning after yesterday's bike hike! First of all I took a stroll up to the war memorial and sat their for a while enjoying the view and reading.
Then I headed back to theЧитать далее
Disk Golf

This afternoon I met up with a couple of hostel pals (including one guy who I'd previously met in both Kaikoura and Christchurch, small world) for a round of disk golf! We arrived at the course onlyЧитать далее
Morning Bike Ride

This morning I packed my bags, stuck them in the luggage room and borrowed one of the hostel bikes to go on a bit of a ride. I cycled around the coast of the peninsula to the north east. There was aЧитать далее
Mt Iron

I then cycled to the start of the Mt Iron track, ditched my bike at the bottom and headed up the hill on foot. A round trip of just over an hour with amazing panoramic views from the summit!
Arriving in Queenstown

This afternoon I took the bus to Queenstown. I checked into the hostel (same brand as the previous one in Wanaka) and was delighted to find balconies running the entire way around both floors of theЧитать далее
Fergburger

For dinner I headed out to the world famous Fergberger burger joint. As usual the queue was down the road even on a Monday evening! The restaurant has taken up a number of premises next to each other,Читать далее
Pool Night

Tonight I entered the hostel pool tournament and went to a few bars! A handful of us had agreed that if anyone of us would the $50 bar tab prize then we'd split the prize. I missed all of my first 3Читать далее
En Route to Milford Sound

Today I took the day trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound. Even though its not too far away as the crowd flys, the mountains getting in the way means its about a 4-5 hour journey each way! I didn'tЧитать далее
Keas

At one of the stops on the way to Milford Sound I finally saw my first kea of the trip! There are less than 7,000 of these native birds in existence and they all live on New Zealand's South Island.Читать далее
Arriving at Milford Sound

After a long but scenic trip we finally arrived at Milford Sound cruise terminal. There were at least a dozen coaches in the car park as one of the most popular destinations in all of New Zealand!
Milford Sound Outbound

So our 2 hour cruse through the sound had begun! The area makes for spectacular scenery as the terrain on either side is some of the steepest in the world and rockets from water level up to 1,700m inЧитать далее
Milford Sound - Inbound

The way back into the sound and journey on the way home was of course equally as spectacular!
We rolled back into Queenstown just after 8pm. I headed for a McDonalds dinner and then watched a film inЧитать далее
Milford Sound - Waterfalls

Water cascades down into the valley from all sides all the way along the sound. The best time to visit the sound is said to be when it's either raining or has just rained heavily as this amplifies theЧитать далее
Bob's Peak

Today I set off on the Ben Lomond hike with one of my hostel pals. First of all was the ascent up to Bob's Peak. This leads up to the activity centre at the top of the hill. We could have taken theЧитать далее
Ben Lomond Summit

After 8km and 1,438m of elevation gain we reached the summit of Ben Lomond standing at 1,750m high! The views were, as ever, amazing panoramic ones over Queenstown and the surrounding mountains andЧитать далее
Post-Hike Evening Out

After heading back down from the summit I cooked up some dinner and enjoyed almost all of a bottle of sauvignon blanc on the hostel balcony! I then went on a bit of a pub crawl with a group from theЧитать далее
Exploring Queenstown Waterfront

Today I had a chilled morning milling around the waterfront with Rob who I'd met a few days earlier. He's a cockney Liverpool fan so naturally we spent most of the time talking all things football!
ПутешественникA brilliant day in the mountains Greg, the views where unbelievable, I really enjoyed my time there, feel quite knackered now, phew! 👍😉
ПутешественникAhah too right David, enjoy a well earned rest 😎