4 days in Queenstown

When I saw a great deal on flights to Queenstown late last year I knew I had to buy them, 24 years old and I'd never visited the "adventure capital of the world"!

I feel like I did my first trip really well, I managed to get spectacular weather, saw a lot of the highlights of Queenstown and the surrounding areas and did some adventure things too. I will admit right here and now that I didn't do one of the infamous bungy jumps; I've done one in my life which was huge for someone with a fear of heights, so I've decided that's it for me!

Anyway, here's what my 4 days looked like. I've also put some other ideas at the bottom for you, including some of the things on my to-do list for next time that I missed out on.

Day 1

Arrived and picked up my rental car from Ace at the airport, they were the cheapest I could find. Always looking for a bargain! I think it was about $50NZ for 4 days, not including petrol.

Drove to Queenstown and after a recommendation from the lady at Ace, had a late breakfast at Vudu, which was amazing! It had a really similar vibe to little and friday, but healthier. After that I wandered around town then headed to Skyline for some fun. The special of the day was $59NZ for a gondola pass and 6 luge rides which was only a few more than the regular 3 ride pass. The gondola is about a 5 minute ride up the mountain, with spectacular views of Queenstown, passing the bungy on the way up.

It was a mild day, with a solid cover of cloud hanging over Queenstown, creating a strange effect. It almost looked like a border on my photos!

The luge was lots of fun, though a bit short, and there is a beginners and fast track. There's a chairlift to the start of the track, which is also located near the start of the Ben Lomond walk, and the takeoff spot for the paragliders. It was a really cool place, you could watch the paragliders launch off the side of the mountain and soar down towards Queenstown.

Dinner was pizza at The London, cheap and cheerful! Also good for breakfast the next day (I never said I was on a diet OK!!). I went to the Queenstown Gardens and just so happened to be there at the same time as the LUMA festival! It was a lovely festival of interactive light displays, but I couldn't capture them very well unfortunately.

Day 2

The High Country Horses Rees River Trail half day ride was definitely the highlight of my trip! The morning was brisk but there were few clouds in the sky, and the drive out to Glenorchy was stunning in the early hours of the day.

The horse ride itself cost $138 and it was well worth it for half a day of riding through some of the most spectacular scenery. We were nearly entirely surrounded by mountains and crossed over the Rees River in several places. The riverbed is covered in lupin plants, which looked quite ugly and lifeless in the cold, but in spring and summer are famous for their beautiful purple flowers. I would love to go back and see them in the warmer weather.

My horses name was Snoopy, and although he was one of the more handsome horses, he was a bit of a lazy boy, reluctant to trot and constantly eating. I actually felt like he was a kindred spirit.

Day 3

My day started off great; a burger for breakfast. A Fergburger burger to be precise! Even though I ordered the wrong one (Cockadoodle Doo not Cockadoodle Oink), it was still delicious, and a very filling breakfast. By going in the morning I beat the crowds, but later found out you can just call up and order which is just as efficient.

I wandered around for a bit then headed to Arrowtown, where I met a school friend who is living nearby, for lunch. I had a look around the place a bit first, venturing down to the river where they have some of the remnants from the gold mining days. There were parts of the town that were still covered in frost, as the midday sun was yet to reach them.

For lunch we went to a little French cafe and had crepes (I thought I should have something healthy for lunch to follow the great breakfast I had ;) ) and afterwards she showed me around. We went into a couple of the famous sweet stores, including Patagonia, which is famous for its fudge and chocolates, and Remarkables Sweet Store, which had all sorts of treats. They weren't cheap though, and I only bought a little 6 pack of fudge to share with the family.

That afternoon I thought I would walk up the Ben Lomond track, apparently it's only a few hours to the saddle, which isn't too bad. But I got to the Mid-way Clearing where a bunch of paths and mountain bike trails met, and it was already dark at 3pm and a local lady warned me not to do it in the dark by myself. Reluctantly I went back down and checked into my hostel.

When I was there I met a nice Aussie girl who wanted to come out with me so we wandered around trying to find good spots to take photos of the sunset. It wasn't the best but it was nice just chilling out and meeting someone new. We had curry for dinner then talked to some people in the hostel for a while then it was bed time.

Day 4

Queenstown is not cheap, but I figured I might as well make the most of it while I was down there, so on Tuesday morning I went on the Thunder Jet. I got a deal from one of the adventure resellers in town for $110 which is why I chose Thunder over my preference which was the Skippers Canyon jet, recommended to me by my parents. It was really fun but sooooo cold. Seriously cold! I met an American girl and we got hot drinks afterwards to get the feeling back in our fingers again then went to Fergbaker to have lunch. I had a great steak and cheese pie, it was quite pricey at $7 but it was definitely worth it.

Then I had a bit of time to kill before my flight (which had been delayed by an hour) so I decided to drive out to the Kawarau Bridge to watch the bungy jumpers. I nailed the timing, there was a big Contiki tour group there so I got to see several jumpers; I'm not sure what it's normally like but it was very busy when I was there.

After that it was bon voyage to Queenstown!

Next time I go I will definitely do the Ben Lomond walk properly, I'd also like to do the walk up to Roy's Peak which is in Wanaka. I'll definitely be going to Milford Sound next time and maybe do one of the walks around there. I was really gutted to miss out on going to Onsen and having a nice relaxing spa day, so I'll definitely be booking that the minute I have flights sorted!

Have you been to Queenstown? What were your highlights?