Queenstown

We left Te Anau early for the drive to Queenstown (just a 30 minute drive from Wanaka where we'd been a couple of days earlier). As we drove we found that we were stopping less than we had been on other long journeys, although the whole time we were amazed by the beautiful nature around us everywhere.

Nearing Queenstown the road runs next to 78km-long Lake Wakatipu. Beth was driving and suddenly had a very serious case of itchy foot, so pulled into the first lay by that came up. Once her foot was well scratched we tried to leave the lay by but found that it was a gravel track that led down to a beautiful picnic and camping spot on the shore of the lake, with gentle shade from the trees and a stony beach. Completely by chance we stumbled onto our favourite lunch spot yet, and there were only a handful of other people there to share it with.

After a while we lazily climbed back into the car to leave the quiet of the South lakeside for the buzz of Queenstown at the North-Eastern edge of the lake. The contrast between the two is extreme, with Queenstown feeling much larger than Christchurch.

We left the car and our bags at our hostel and walked 10 minutes to the Skyline Gondola, which carried us 450m above the town. Each car was only suitable for a small family so we ended up with one to ourselves for our ascent and descent, with amazing views out over the town on both. At the top we took a chairlift another couple of hundred metres where we collected a helmet and prepared ourselves for some downhill action on their Luge run. If you're unfamiliar with luge, picture a toboggan with a t-shaped pole in the middle. You sit in it and use the pole to accelerate, brake and steer and it's as easy as that! You feel like you're sat on the floor and it's only the gradient that drives you forward, and it was an entirely new experience for us!

There are two tracks you can race down, the easier and family-friendly blue and racecourse red. We both tried out the blue first and decided on a pace we were happy with (mine much faster than Beth's of course!). The track is suitably windy and goes through a tunnel under a footpath, underneath the chairlift and ends just below the gondola terminus, giving a good thrill as we zoomed down it.

Beth's second run was again on the blue but I braved the red track, enjoying the extra speed and challenging bends it included. Perhaps surprisingly Beth joined me in going into the red run for our third go, and she enjoyed it! Here are videos of how we got on:
Beth https://goo.gl/photos/PBp2526ERPLNkpdF9 and Phil https://goo.gl/photos/QP8mFQXYRbo2px6x5

As it was a hot and sunny day we were ready to have a break and did so at the cafe with a mini-tower of ice cream each!

As we ate our ice cream we people watched and saw a few conversations at a nearby hut, that was selling tandem paragliding. It had looked like fun as I'd seen a few people soaring above during the afternoon so, with a little encouragement from Beth, I went for it!

After a 20 minute hike up to the large hill behind the luge and gondola area I was standing on the edge of a huge hill, being geared up in a very attractive flight suit harness by my instructor Dan. As he completed some checks on the equipment I took the chance to walk to the edge of the hill that we’d be launching off and saw that the fully grown fir trees below were tiny from that height...and I’d be running off the edge of it! A few further checks were carried out by Dan and as he did this there were other paragliders disappearing off the hill, and even at that point as I watched them I felt only pure excitement! Then it was our turn. Dan strapped his harness to mine and then tugged the parachute out behind us and into the air, at which point I could feel the pull of the wind in it, like a sail. He shouts at me to start running and then we launched into the air, gliding over the edge of the hill.

Within seconds the only thing I could hear up there was the wind and our voices as we talked (screamed) and it was really incredible to feel so weightless so high in the air, as if floating. We circled over the luge area where Beth was waiting far below, then Dan passed me the controls and gave me a crash course on paragliding - pull left to go left and pull right to go right! It was great fun steering us over the town and out over the edge of the turquoise blue lake.

A couple of minutes later we were flying back over the town and Dan offered two options for me: Continue the scenic flight or take the adrenaline-hungry way, so of course I chose the latter! What happened next I can’t honestly tell you as we turned and twisted every which way and this was also the first time I felt my stomach drop in the whole flight (to my surprise) - it was awesome! And then we’d lost our height and it was time to land in a school field near the gondola stop. Landing was very gentle, like being in a plane, except that the ground rose up from underneath me very suddenly. Approximately 8 minutes after I ran off the edge of the hill I was standing at the base of it, and I’d loved every second of it!

The next morning we were up early to drive an hour around the edge of Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy (the lake is that big!) where we parted ways for the morning. I went kayaking on the lake while Beth went horseriding.

My kayaking tour took me out onto the calm blue water and to Pigeon Island, about 300m from the shore. The water was cool and tasted great as it’s pure glacial water. It was also great when we landed on the island as a Weka bird walked over and inquisitively started looking around our feet and equipment! Sadly it was this inquisitivity that led to them all being eaten on the mainland and is the reason why Pigeon Island is one of the only places in NZ where they are still found. We began our hike across the island and ate some wild berries on the way, before we arrived at the far side of the island on another cute stony beach. We rested then hiked back to where our kayaks were waiting, then hopped back in and paddled ourselves around the water some more. It was a great fun experience and it was so nice to be so close to the nature I’d been seeing from a distance.

Meanwhile Beth was horseriding, here’s her tale: Once I got to the riding centre we got a bus a 10 minute drive away to where the horses were based, situated in a picturesque valley. Very quickly I was on my horse, called Bob, who was very big, strong and had a distinct personality. It's the first time I've rode as an adult so I felt a little nervous but excited. Very quickly we were off down a grassy track with me and Bob being at the back, as that's his preferred position in line. Very quickly I was greeted with spectacular views, surrounded by both grassy mountains and snow capped mountains, as well as glacial creeks and the stunning Dart River.
We crossed many streams and the water being glacial was beautiful and blue and it was really cool wading through the water. At one point it was quite deep and up to my ankles/Bob's belly. I think riding a horse is like riding a bike, you get back into it quickly when you know how so I felt comfortable quite quickly and enjoyed some opportunities to trot as well. We ended up doing a large loop with the scenery ever changing but constantly beautiful. One of the valleys is also where they filmed all of the Lord of the Rings scenes of Isengaard. I definitely need to go watch the movies again now! After 2 hours we arrived back, and I'll be honest, my legs were killing me, I'd forgotten how physical riding can be on the knees but it was worth it to see such stunning landscapes while on horseback. Definitely something I won't forget.

We met back in Glenorchy at lunch time and drove back into Queenstown, intending to have another afternoon out however by the time we were back and had eaten a legendary Fergburger we were out of energy and decided instead to relax in the sun at our hostel and to do some odd jobs.

The next morning we leisurely headed to nearby Arrowtown, an old gold mining community that has turned into a tourist spot and justly so. We walked by the river around the old Chinese Village, which pays homage to the huge numbers of Chinese Immigrants who toiled in the area looking for gold. We also walked along the river further and the area is truly beautifully. We had lunch at a cute cottage and then walked around the town, browsing the interesting shops there (and, of course, eating an ice cream). A short while later we went back to the cottage where we’d had lunch for our lesson in gold panning and although it was clearly fixed...WE FOUND GOLD! Equipped with a shovel and two pans we went back to the river and started our hunt for some natural New Zealand gold. We were there for two hours and the main reason was because it was quite fun, but eventually Beth found a piece (yes, really!) which she added to her other fragments that we are now carrying with us ready to be displayed proudly at home!

We had thoroughly enjoyed our time in Arrowtown and headed back into Queenstown and as the sun set we soaked up the atmosphere at the beach, watching a street performer and eating a delicious ice cream (round two - this ice cream on a stick was dipped under liquid chocolate for us!) then went back to our hostel to pack our bags ready to leave early the following morning, happy with our adventures there.

PhilRead more