Queenstown and around

Our approach to Queenstown began with the sight of Lake Wakatipu hugging the highway as “The Remarkables” mountain range stood tall on the otherside.

We arrived in Queenstown in a blaze of sunshine. The town was small but full of activity. It carried a definite ski resort feel reflecting its winter activities. We took an instant shine to the place. However we decided to put our exploration on hold until the next day as we found ourselves a long overdue campsite. We decided to sample a Top 10 resort which, while it had nice bathrooms and a good booking office, was very over priced for a pretty poor camping spot where we were jammed in close to everyone else and our power cable couldn’t even reach the source and were accused of having a short cable. However after finding an extension cable we settled down for the evening, enjoying the late sun. After having a thoroughly refreshing shower we made use of the camp BBQ and grilled some delicious burgers, this proved to be a theme of our time in Queenstown. To add to our feeling of being ripped off by the campsite we had to adhere to a strict checkout time of 10am the next morning (a campsite is not a hotel!) However we made use of our time and used their booking office with their special discount to book our activity for the day, White Water Sledging. However, we had some time on our hands before that so we parked the van and headed in to explore the town, which was absolutely beautiful.

We wandered the streets, very much liking everything we saw before we found our way to the lakefront where we encountered a market.

After browsing the stalls it was time for us to check in for our sledging. We were picked up in a mini van by a Czech man called Tomas with no shoes, and an obscenely tall American called Dallas. We were then whisked off to the ‘Frogz’ base where we were equipped with our wet suits, helmets and flippers. We were then briefed by another member of the team before we were driven again to our loading point, handed a heavy sledge and told to walk down a steep cliff with it to the waters edge. What we were doing today was effectively toboganning down river rapids. We had been inspired to do this by our river rafting trip back in Rotorua. Today we were tackling the Grade 3 rapids of the impossibly blue Kawarau river. Whilst we had tackled Grade 5 rapids on our rafting trip we were assured that what feel like little bumps on a river raft, look and feel like a giant wave on a sledge. Protected by our wetsuits we plunged into the rather chilly waters with our sledge. We then practiced a few moves, such as turning, dealing with whirlpools and doing barrel rolls, in an eddy (a slow moving bit of water outside the main current). It was then time to start so we were told to kick out hard into the current to ensure that we weren’t forced back into the eddy. Then we were off. The group continued down the river in a rough line, trying hard to stay in the centre of the river to avoid getting stuck in an eddy.

On the way we encountered several rapids that threw us about and were fantastic fun. We also caught a few whirlpools that would spin you around before spitting you out again in due course.

The whole process was extremely draining though as you had to constantly fight the immense power of the river to stay in the mainstream. Towards the end of the run we were guided into a small alcove where we given the option to do a cliff jump into the river. Several members of the group declined but we were both keen. We scrambled up the cliff (a difficult task with flippers and tired legs) before watching 2 others jump. It was then Tom’s turn before Emma, after a little hesitation, joined him. We had probably jumped a good 15-20 feet into the river. We collected our sledges again and finished our ride down the river, being picked up. It was then time to do it all over again, now that we had the hang of it and knew what to expect. However, of the 8 people in the group, 4 opted out of this. Whilst feeling thoroughly knackered by the first run, there was no way we weren’t going to do it a second time. This journey proved to be much easier with less people to bump into and we were able to attempt a few barrel rolls and get a little airborne over the rapids. This second attempt was much less tiring so we were extremely glad we did it again. Much like the rafting in Rotorua we were shown pictures of the day that we could purchase, but again we declined, and so unfortunately we don’t have any photos of our sledging experience. We arrived back in Queenstown feeling that we had earnt our treat for the evening, Queenstown’s notorious Fergburger. A burger place that had been recommended to us by anyone we know that has been to Queenstown, including a Vegetarian!

However on our way to the van to get changed we stumbled across a rugby match. We soon realized that this wasn’t your average local club match, this was a top class professional match between the Otago Highlanders (the home team) and the Waikato Chiefs, and included several World Cup Winning All Blacks, and it was free!! It was a pre-season match so it was being held in a park in Queenstown as opposed to the Highlanders usual stadium in Dunedin. So we found a spot on the grass in the beautiful late afternoon sunshine and watched a thoroughly entertaining game that finished 38-36 to the Waikato Chiefs so plenty of tries.

Feeling very pleased with our day we made our way to Fergburger. The place was crazy! The shop was only tiny with very limited seating and when we arrived a queue stretched down the street. We patiently waited in line, chose our burger (2 x Mr. Big Stuff’s), placed our order and then waited for a tantalizing half an hour. When our number was called we were each handed a beast. We quickly escaped with our prize and made our way to the lakefront beach to devour it.

The burger was heaven. Amazing double beef burgers with BBQ sauce, salad, onion, cheese, bacon and a Kiwi specialty of Aioli sauce, which really set it apart from all other burgers. Much to Tom’s surprise, Emma polished off her burger with ease. Feeling suitably stuffed we headed back to Kiwi. We had decided to do the lakeside drive up to the town of Glenorchy. We planned to drive a bit of it that evening before finding a spot to stop for the night before finishing it in the morning. After some frustration at discovering several No Camping signs in perfectly good spots we eventually found the nicest free spot we have come across to date. Set away from the road we had our own private area with a stunning view across the lake, with the snow capped mountains of the Mount Aspiring National park in the distance and The Remarkables across the lake.

We sat there with a beer and watched the sun set. What a day!

After a restful night we carried on the beautiful, picturesque drive to Glenorchy, ranked as one of the most scenic roads in the world.

The township of Glenorchy was tiny and nestled at the foot of the Mount Aspiring National Park. The surrounding area had claims to fame in that it was used as much of the setting of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We parked Kiwi, and then went for a stroll in a big loop around the lagoon. The scenery was amazing.

After completing the circle we returned to Kiwi and retraced our tracks along the road back to Queenstown. We had a few odd jobs to do for example topping up the dongle and food shopping.

We also did a bit of window-shopping before rewarding ourselves with our second Fergburger (we couldn’t resist!). Tom’s burger, ‘Big Al’ (2 burgers/2 eggs/cheese/bacon/beetroot/relish/lettuce/onions/aioli/tomato – yes he is a ridiculous human being) was EVEN bigger than his ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ of the previous day.

While Emma managed to eat her ‘Bun Laden’, (a falafel burger) fairly tidily, Tom succeeded in squirting egg/beetroot/aioli/relish all over his hands as his burger bun collapsed under the weight of its contents. With very full stomachs we decided to go on a little stroll to walk off a bit of the disgusting amount of food we had just eaten. We headed along the lake to Queenstown’s Botanic Gardens, which were very pretty and full of colourful flowers and home to a sport we had never come across before; Frisbee Golf, which looked very entertaining. If only we’d had a bit more time we would have tried it!

Heading back to Kiwi we decided, reluctantly, that it was time to drag ourselves away from beautiful Queenstown. We drove to Arrowtown, an historic gold mining settlement with pretty shops and the remains of an interesting Chinese settlement from the Gold Rush.