On Thursday 8th of February we left Auckland and North Island behind and flew to Queenstown. I was gaping out of the plane window for a long time enjoying the amazing views as we approached the airport. Queenstown Airport is surrounded by beautiful mountains and lakes and it's definitely one of the most picturesque airports I've ever been to (
I'm not the only one thinking that)
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| Airport grounds and the Remarkables |
We searched for accommodations about a week before our flight but this time we ran into problems. Until then we had had no problems booking our rooms few days in advance or even the day before staying but it was a different story in South Island. First it felt that EVERYTHING was fully booked and we found out it was the peak season with the Chinese New Year going on on top of that (we also learned that Queenstown is hugely popular throughout the whole year so book well in advance even outside the peak season). Luckily we didn't leave all the planning for the last day and had at least some time to plan our moves. For starters we got an Airbnb homestay place near the airport for the first couple of days. It was just a walking distance away from the airport and the house was empty as we got there. Well, almost empty as our bed was taken...
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| Coco the cat |
It was still early afternoon when we got our stuff in place so we did a little Google research and decided to go to Queenstown and walked to the nearest bus stop. We found out that you can get a
GoCard from the bus and it's the cheapest and easiest way to get around. Shortly after arriving to town center we saw
Small Planet Disc Sports and had to pay a visit there, after being taken away from the disc golf scene for few months I had the urge to do some shopping.. After buying some discs we wanted to see Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown waterfront so we walked there. It was just beautiful with clear water and mountains in the background. We also walked to Queenstown Gardens and got a glimpse from it's disc golf course but it was getting late so we hopped on the bus going back to Frankton where we stayed.
The place we stayed in was a homestay and it was the first time staying in one for both me and Sini. The place had many good reviews but I was still pleasantly surprised. The owner turned out to be really nice and we felt like home and on top of that the place was located just a 20 minute ride from Queenstown. They also had a (bed invading) cat and a dog we planned to kidnap but unfortunately we didn't have space in our backpacks. ;p
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| Afternoon sun in Queenstown |
The next three days we took it easy and just enjoyed disc golf in Queenstown Gardens and the town itself. Even if I don't fancy touristy places too much nowadays I fell a little for Queenstown. The place has it's charm for sure and it became one of my favorites in NZ.
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| It's in |
On Monday morning we made our way to
Omega Car Rental near the airport. We had rented a Hyundai Tucson SUV for three weeks and the car greatly eased our situation with accommodations. After paperwork and getting the car we went to get our backpacks and set our way to Alexandra. It's a small town one hour drive east from Queenstown. There's not too much to do around the town but there are some nice hiking possibilities and the guest house we stayed in,
Irish Charm, was well worth the money. On our way to Alexandra we stopped to check out the views at Lake Dunstan near the Clyde Dam.
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| Lake Dunstan |
We were very pleasantly surprised as we got to our guest house as it was located near New World supermarket and it was spacious, clean and had an Apple TV with the game Jetpack Joyride which we totally rocked! It would have been easy to lock ourselves in to beat the high scores but we decided to check out Shaky Bridge Cafe that our host recommended. Coffee and a local pale ale in pretty surroundings worked just fine.
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| Shaky Bridge Cafe |
Next day we decided to do a day trip to Wanaka which was around one hour drive one way. It turned out to be less touristy version of Queenstown which was just great. And there's a beautiful disc golf course also, perfection!
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| Checking out the views in Wanaka |
Irish Charm was fully booked after Tuesday so we switched places again which was becoming a theme in South Island. Our next place was a Bed and Breakfast a short drive away from Alexandra. After leaving our stuff there we drove to Blue Lake in St Bathans. For me it was a 'meh' experience as there is so much beautiful nature in New Zealand that you kind of become blind to it. What got me more excited was the fact that the place we stayed in had a grill and we bought some steaks and red wine, it's hard to beat a good BBQ! We still had one full day near Alexandra so we decided to do some hiking, or tramping, as the locals call it. It's a long way to the top but boy it feels good when you reach it :)
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| On the top |
Our Bed and Breakfast place had some farm animals and later that day Sini got to help with collecting chicken eggs and feeding the sheep. The sheep were a bit suspicious of us and stomped their feet at us but they fled pretty quickly when we did the same to them :D At dinner time we enjoyed some BBQ again as we had the chance.
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| Farm girl |
There was finally some space in Queenstown hostels on Friday so we made our way there. We checked
Bookme for some deals and booked some luge tickets for the next day. It turned out to be great fun and you should definitely book at least 5 rides. We had 7 and each felt faster than the previous one so maybe it was good we didn't have more to avoid injuries :D
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| Down the hill we go! |
After the downhill fun we had pizza and went to play disc golf. On the course we met some local guys and played a round with them. They asked if we wanted to join them the next day on a different course that's near Queenstown and we were in of course. It was harder one for sure but nice to try still.
More visitors
On Monday 19th my mom and her friend were coming to visit us for two weeks. We were going back to Alexandra and we drove there beforehand with Sini to check in because our guests' flight was landing pretty late. In the evening we went to the airport to pick up my mom and Kisu and it was nice to meet again after many months of traveling. They had stayed in Singapore for one night to ease the jetlag but had a long flight behind and we still had an hour to drive. It wasn't too bad though and soon they got to paying some sleep debts.
The next day was rainy so we mostly just watched the Olympics and drove around Alexandra checking out the Shaky Bridge and the nearby town Clyde where the dam is. Following morning we set our way to Wanaka. There's a unique cafe and tourist attraction in Wanaka we decided to visit because it was still too early to check in and the rain continued still. It's called
Puzzling World and it has all kind of brain teasers, puzzles and illusions to offer.
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| Coffee and puzzles |
Again it was raining through the day so we kept inside after buying some groceries and rum to keep us warm. Little before sunset the sky started to clear out a bit so we did a little walk nearby before hitting the bed.
On Thursday morning we woke up to a whole different world as the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Unfortunately we couldn't enjoy Wanaka more that time as it was time, once again, to change motels. Our next one was located in Cromwell, a small town in middle of Queenstown, Alexandra and Wanaka. On the way we stopped to buy heaps of fresh fruits and went for a walk after checking in at our motel. It was good spending time outside after the rainy days although the town itself didn't have too much to offer. Later that night we had a big meal in Five Stags Restaurant.
Once again we had booked only one night stay and in the morning we went back towards north. We drove all the way to Twizel, 140 km from Cromwell stopping in Omarama to caffeine up and do some clothes shopping and to buy some fish in
High Country Salmon that our hostess recommended earlier.
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| Scouting for salmon |
After unloading the car and chilling for a while we drove another ten minutes to Lake Pukaki, which Sini had searched up before. We had to rub our eyes a bit when the lake came in view because it was just amazing. The lake has a distinctive light cyan color which it gets from glacial flour and it's an impressive sight. After getting back we still had time to check out the disc golf course which was located conveniently just next to our motel..
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| Lake Pukaki |
Sunday was a relaxation day which we spent in Lake Tekapo and floating in
Tekapo Springs hot pools ranging from 37 - 39 degrees Celsius. We were meant also to participate in Salmon Festival but it was already ending when we got back to Twizel that afternoon.
Our next destination was another small town named Kingston on the shore of Lake Wakatipu and we had the luxury to stay there in a spacious Airbnb place a whopping three nights.. On our way there we stopped for some wine tasting as there are tons of wineries in Central Otago ranging from big to small and bought a bottle of red. We didn't stop for groceries on the way and after getting to Kingston we noticed that the town is so small there's no grocery stores. So I hopped in the car and 60 km later in Lumsden I got us some food :D
We decided to spend the next day in Queenstown as Kingston was probably the smallest town we'd been to in NZ. On our earlier visits we'd seen the massive lines outside the famous
Fergburger and now was the time to put those hamburgers to the test.
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| The hype outside Fergburger |
Luckily we Finns love to stand in queues because the place was crowded as usual. In less than 15 minutes we had our meal in the bag and we took it to Earnslaw Park by the lake. The burgers were mighty fine, maybe not worth all the hype but very tasty indeed. After the meal we headed to the disc golf course with Sini and my mom did some walking and shopping with Kisu.
Glowworms and tattoos
On February 27th it was time to explore Fiordland so we hopped in the car pretty early and started driving towards Te Anau. We arrived before noon and went straight to
Real Journeys office to book tickets for a glowworm cave tour. They had still enough space for the 3 pm tour so we bought those and got some snacks and coffee. There was still plenty of time before the tour and there was a 9 hole disc golf course and some good walking areas nearby so we had no trouble spending those few hours. At 2.45 pm we were back in the Real Journeys office and soon got on the tour boat.
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| Entering the caves |
The caves were really cool, we walked there on platforms next to a underground river and saw glowworms and a waterfall. Few times we stopped to spot the worms and the guide turned off the flashlight. It was a little disorienting as it was pitch black and quiet, the only thing you could see were little specks of light from the glowworms. The coolest part was yet to come as we got on a small boat and in the darkness floated deeper in the caves where there were thousands of glowworms. It felt like floating in space, it was all quiet and those worms shone like distant stars.
We still had some days left with our guests and next we went back to Wanaka. On the way we drove up to The Remarkables Ski Area to remind ourselves what snow looks like and had a stop in Cardrona as well. After the drive we just chilled and threw discs at Lismore Park later on.
On March 1st there was a nice coincidence as we were having lunch (a massive lunch, Lake Bar's Taste Plate was HUGE!). Before 2018 New Zealand had won only one medal in Winter Olympics and this year they won 2 bronze medals, both by teens living in Wanaka. It was their homecoming party that day and they drove past us when we were eating. :)
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| Ordering food when you're hungry.. |
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| Wanaka Olympic medalists |
The next day we did a little car trip to Blue Pools. There's some nice tracks going through woods and across the Makarora River and you have plenty of options to choose from, the one we took was 1,5 km one way. Back in Wanaka we went to have a small picnic in Eely Point and searched for That Wanaka Tree. In reality it didn't look like much but hey, the hype is real so we had to take a picture of course. Later that night we shot a round in Lismore Park and Sini got -1, you go girl!
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| Perhaps the most photographed tree in New Zealand |
The next morning it was time to say goodbye to Wanaka. We drove to Arrowtown, a historic gold mining town located near Queenstown. The place was bigger and more touristy than I had imagined but had a nice feel to it. We did some shopping and continued our way back to Kingston. It was the last night for my mom and Kisu so we had booked something different to stay in, two yurts. It was actually a really comfortable stay.
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| One of our yurts |
On Sunday we drove our guests to airport and went to a nearby cafe to play Tantrix, a tile-based strategic game we bought in Te Anau. Next few days we were in a slight slumber, the travel weariness starting to get us. We had tried to book a table in
Stratosfare Restaurant for our last night together with my mom and Kisu but they were fully booked then. I got a table for the two of us for Tuesday though. It didn't fit in our daily budget but it was still definitely worth it, the 95 NZD price included a gondola ride up the hill and the buffet had lots of delicious options to choose from.
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| Not too shabby |
The next day was our last in South Island and all about adrenaline. We booked a
KJet ride that took us from Lake Wakatipu to Shotover River, doing 360 spins and skimming over shallow waters. It was a one hour long ride and even if it the jet boat was going fast we could have enjoyed an even faster ride. It was fun still and after the thrill I had only half an hour to get to
Otautahi Tattoo, where I had reserved a time to get some new ink on my calf. I'd planned it for a looong time but as it is a travel themed tattoo it felt right to have it done there on the other side of the globe. :)
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| Getting inked |
- Matias
