Queenstown: The New Zealand Alps
Upon arriving in Queenstown after our flight from Auckland, we went on a walking tour of the downtown area. We had lunch then took the Skyline Gondola to Bob’s Peak, which gave us a bird’s eye view of the entire valley and the Remarkables mountains that are part of the New Zealand “Alps.”
On our second day in Queenstown we visited Arrowtown, an old gold mining town where 12,000 ounces ($18 million at today’s prices) of yellow treasure were lugged out by the first gold escort in January 1863.
Queenstown is New Zealand’s adventure sports center. After our visit to Allentown, we visited the AJ Hackett Bungy Jump site. It’s the first bungy jump site in the world where AJ Hackett started this crazy adventure activity. It’s still an active jump site. BTW no one in our group was interested in jumping. Check out my photos of a jump.
Afterward, we visited Gibbston Valley Winery for a tour, wine tasting and lunch. It was great to see their man-made underground cave where their wine is stored and aged in wood barrels.
That evening Liz and I joined Jim and Martha from our group at a Queenstown resident’s home for dinner. It’s part of Vantage Travel’s local connection program. We had a great time learning more about living in New Zealand from our very gracious hosts. Check out my photo of the view from their living room!
We had a storm come in for our third day in Queenstown that forced a change in our plans. So we took the TSS Earnslaw steam ship (launched October 18, 1912) across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a sheep shearing and sheep dog demonstration. The sheep shearing was fascinating! Afterward we had a huge BBQ lunch at the farm. We took the TSS Earnslaw back across the lake and enjoyed a relaxing evening in town shopping, dining and visiting the Patagonia Gelato shop!
We had a day off today so had a lazy morning at the hotel. In the afternoon we took a walk into town, did a little shopping, and Liz made a sizable sum of money from a very friendly machine along the way. We had an absolutely amazing dinner at Botswana Butchery. On the way home we came upon a fellow singing in the square with his guitar case open for donations. We’ve all seen similar scenes before. But, this man was not signing alone. His dog provided the harmony! It was quite the performance with everyone cheering, most were donating. It was very obvious that these two loved each other.
We have really enjoyed our time in New Zealand. It’s a beautiful country with wonderful people. Tomorrow we are off to Sydney.
Miles traveled on this trip to date: 8,160. Number of days on this trip to date: 13
