Ten(ish) things to do in Queenstown
It’s been a busy few weeks with Christmas and New Year, plus I’m in report writing season for my teaching job so I’ve been working through those, excited to be at the finish line and able to indulge in some travel writing again. Here is my summary of travel tips for Queenstown, it was a fun fortnight. I definitely did not do everything and skipped a lot of the adventure activities like the luge and zip lining because I didn’t feel like doing them alone. I did spend far too long in this location, even a week would have been a lot. This said, the views are spectacular and my interest has definitely been piqued to return and visit more cities in New Zealand on another trip.
Stay at Melbourne Lodge
I have to highlight this economical and awesome hotel with rooms specifically for single travelers. The view from the dining room is breathtaking (see above). They had a kitchen with a microwave, toaster oven and fridge. There’s no cooker but I was able to whip up plenty of meals regardless. I had an intial panic because the rooms were close together and sound carried. I knew that I would regularly be working until 2am and didn’t want to disturb anyone. The hotel was accommodating and let me use the staff room so there was no issue. Overall I would not recommend New Zealand for digital nomads if you are working on a UK schedule unless you love being a night owl, I had to work until past 4am a few times and found the time difference disorienting. Even Melbourne is better where I start work two hours earlier at 7.30pm, which gives me enough time to get in essential meetings before midnight.
Who knew Kiwis were so cute? I’m not sure I even realised this slang name for New Zealanders came from these birds. The park was a fabulous opportunity to learn more about the natural ecosystems on the islands. The story of the Kiwi is a sad one, some 50 million years of evolution where they had no natural predators so evolved to hatch more or less fully formed. After three months tending the egg, a Kiwi parent’s job is done at hatching. Chicks are swiftly expected to leave the nest and start it out on their own. This worked fine until colonisation introduced a lovely range of different threatening animals like stoats, cats and weasels who were only too happy to eat the baby Kiwi’s, driving their numbers to the point of extinction within a few hundred years. Humans have stepped in to raise the chicks for a few months until they are large enough to fend off attack, whereupon they are released into the wild. This strategy is working, although I am left questioning how sustainable it is.
Kiwis are nocturnal so they had to be viewed in special indoor enclosures where they reverse the light pattern to trick the Kiwis into coming out during the day so the human visitors can see them. For this reason I have no photos because the flash would have freaked them out. I wasn’t sure how aware they were of us standing and watching, there was one feeding for a solid 15 minutes while I surveiled, pecking its delicate, long, skinny beak into the dirt, hoovering up whatever insects it could find. It looks like they are covered in fluffy fur, but I was assured it’s feathers. Top tip - make sure you take indoor glasses, I only had prescription sunglasses- doh!
Get a Bee card and take the Bus
As we recall, I’m all about car-less travel. For Queenstown you had to buy a Bee Card to use the bus which I intended to do at the airport but forgot. I was later filled with thrifty regret for this because it would have saved a chunk of money to get the bus to my hotel instead of an Uber. I ended up getting the Bee card from i-SITE at 22 Shotover Street. Topping up online didn’t work with international information so it had to be done at the i-SITE. You can pay on the bus but it’s way more expensive so if you’re using the bus more than once, Bee card is the way to go.
Go for a swim at Alpine Aqualand
Just a short 15 minute bus ride away to Frankton where the airport is also located. This pool had excellent lane swimming facilities along with slides and a wave pool for the kiddies. A sane alternative to the freezing water in lakes and rivers.
Go for a soak and massage at Onsen Retreat
I splashed out on this as a special treat and got a three hour package that included a lengthy bubbling jacuzzi soak in an oak tub followed by a massage extravaganza. The views of the hillside were pretty and I got snacks and fruity beverages to enjoy. The perfect way to pamper yourself, I would definitely indulge in this again.
Take the cable car up the mountain
A must see for anyone passing through Queenstown, the views from the top are wonderful; turquoise water meets green grass and alpine forest, with the dark, volcanic mountains’ ruffled edges. Having elected not to do the co-located luge because of my aforementioned concerns about driving, I was somewhat embarrassed to see an (approximately) 90 year old man having a go. I should have tried it, let my regret be a motivator to return.
A few rainy afternoons were spent in this lovely little cinema. It feels a bit like watching a movie in your living room, I recommend going for the back row only as the screen is a tight fit. The selection of films is pretty mainstream, resulting in me seeing Gladiator 2 which was so terrible not even the beautiful Pedro Pascal could redeem it. My favourite review by Erik Kain said it, “...tells us a story that nobody asked for and never needed to be told in the first place”. He describes how it diminishes the impact of the first film by turning Russel Crow’s character from devoted husband to a cheat who fathered a secret child. I was intrigued enough to watch the first movie again and find myself in wholehearted agreement. I did also see Wicked, though, which I would have been unlikely to watch otherwise and was, unexpectedly, delightful and hilarious. We digress….back to Queenstown…
This trip appeared to be the most promoted tourist activity online but I’m not totally sure why. Not to be ungrateful, the waterfalls were cool and we were fortunate enough that it had just stopped raining so they were plentiful and dramatic. However, it’s a five hour journey each way which was unexpected, I had understood it was more like 3.5 hours. Adding in the hour and 45 minutes we spent on the boat, it was a long day of sitting. There were a few stops on the way where you could buy touristy gifts and try honey etc. My need for such things had been satiated in Hawaii. Overall, if you have the money to fly to Mildford Sound, it would be a better investment of time for what you get from the boat trip. The price difference is about £180, you can decide if that budget works, it’s a close call but I would take the plane.
Go to an Ecstatic Dance
I am always excited to find ED community. I somehow managed to dance in eight different countries last year! This was a fun group meeting on a Friday night to provide an energetic start to the weekend.
Eat at Caribe Latin Kitchen
I finally ate here a few days before leaving and it was sooo yummy that I made sure to go back on my last day. This is the real deal, the burritos were delicious and I ordered in Spanish. I ate a lot of good food in Queenstown, but this was by far the best.
That’s it for now folks, I’ll be back in a few weeks with the Melbourne edition as I go around the world in 150 days.
8 different countries for dance 👏👏👏