We left the hostel when the office opened at 8am so that we could reclaim our key deposit, and swiftly drove on the airport – completely panicked that we would miss our 10am flight as we hit the morning rush hour traffic. We arrived at the car hire place at 9am and hurried through the return process – thankfully no mention was made of a small scrape to the bumper which seemed to have appeared…
We got speedy lift to the terminal and checked in without issue – leaving enough time to scarf down a McDonald’s egg McMuffin, hash brown and fruit toast between us. The flight was perfectly on time and the clear skies gave us beautiful views for much of the flight. The trolley service furnished us with crisps, tea, coffee and a sweetie. Pretty good, and we even landed early.
On arriving at Queenstown, we looked for the best option to get into town, but all we could see was taxis and expensive coaches – even the airport information recommended them. However, we persevered and walked to the bus stop a hundred meters down and were ferried to Queenstown quickly and for next to nothing.
The weather was gorgeous and Queenstown in a picture postcard location – perched on the edge of lake Wakatipu, hemmed in by mountains, and the peaks of The Remarkables range beyond. It was a fair hike up the hill to the Hippo Lodge but it can only do us good. I don’t know if I have seen a street as steep! It was worth it though, when the checkin girl thought my red camper van t-shirt was awesome.
After dropping our bags we immediately walked back down into town to the gondola that ran to the peak overlooking the town. After a short queue we hopped into a gondola and then were required to smile for a picture – by the time we got back down the pictures were printed with our gondola superimposed over the backdrop of Queenstown. Cheesy and, well, rubbish. Can’t believe they print them all out!
The views from the top were spectacular and had we a longer stay in the area we would have loved to have walked back down. Instead, we sat in a spot of shade at the summit and planned the afternoon…. Laundry! So straight back to the gondola and back up to the hostel for laundry and a wee nap.
Refreshed, we headed down into town and went to the Fishbone Cafe for dinner. Laura had the Tarahike fish with roast vegetables, which was a pleasant but not very exciting fish. The battered fish I had was great, but the chips a bit sub par – why do people find it so hard to cook chips!
Dessert was fantastic, a lovely cheesecake and a massive pavlova that Laura describes as “the best ever”. Impressive, and as Laura filled up, I stepped in to eat the rest of it – what a hero!
A pleasant stroll along the pier followed dinner – it is a lovely little spot with a lot of character. The evening sun was warm and we walked through the city gardens and sat and watched the sun set between the mountain ranges.
We then dropped into the Otago Wine Experience in town – an automated wine tasting lounge. Essentially around a hundred wines available for self service with a charge card – all offered in tasting portions or larger glasses. A fantastic system and we tasted 18 different wines for less that £20 – we tried a selection of Sauvingnon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Rose, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noirs, many other reds and dessert wines. We particularly liked the Wild Earth wine, must look that up when we get home!
After that, we walked home happy and took the washing off the line in the dark, joined by a cute young ginger cat who managed to get Laura covered in hair and mud.
Not a great night’s sleep – disturbed by some guffawing Dutch idiots in the hostel common area who kept strumming a guitar. In the end we had to get up and tell them to shut up.
I am loving following along on your trip – the photography is just stunning! You’re making me want to throw everything in a bag and head out.
I went to a place like the Otago Wine Experience in New Orleans – did this one have different sizes of pours? I loved it, but found it completely overwhelming!