Queenstown

We woke nice and early in Christchurch and were lucky enough to be offered a lift to where our bus was picking us up by Graham, the owner of Tranquil Lodge (our hostel), which saved us a walk in the rain. We were not especially looking forward to the journey as it was estimated to take us seven hours to get to Queenstown. We left at 07:30 and arrived in Queenstown around 15:30, if I remember correctly. The drive was better than we thought and the scenery was really beautiful so we had plenty to look at.

Queenstown sits beside a crystal clear, blue lake beneath a range of towering mountains that encircle the town; never could a more spectacular location for a town be imagined. The entire Queenstown vista was amazing, we didn’t know which was more impressive – the lake or the mountains. Queenstown has been dubbed “The Adventure Capital of the World” and it’s easy to see why. A range of adrenaline fuelled activities are available, from a mountain top luge (like a toboggan), to bungee jumping, to sky diving to mountain swings; Queenstown has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, most of that comes at a price and a steep one at that. The town itself though is pretty, a lot of cafes, bars and shops to keep you occupied and there is a lovely town garden that sits on a small peninsular jutting out into the lake (Nicola was splashed by a wave on the lake as she sat beside it in the gardens – icy cold water). The air seemed crisper here than elsewhere, maybe it was having travelled further south, or being nestled within the mountains but it was nice. Although we imagined that winter could get pretty cold.