Queenstown

Nestled on the banks of Lake Wakatipu and sandwiched between The Remarkables and the Eyre Mountains, Queenstown has to be one of the most picturesque places in the world. It’s also known as ‘the adventure capital of the world’ since it’s home to the first even bungee jump. Ever since, it seems to have adopted every kind of adrenaline activity known to man and people generally come here in Summer to jump off a bridge or from a plane. Not us! AJ Hackett - world famous for jumping off the Eiffel Tower in 1986 - also opened his own bungy station in Queenstown in 1988.

Thus the place is full of hardcore party-type backpackers, generally making us feel really old and like right party-poopers. It seems that if backpackers are doing a whistle stop tour of New Zealand, Queenstown is the fourth place they’ll stop (after Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) to do the obligatory jump from a plane before flying on to Oz.

Chris enjoying a lunchtime 'FergBerger'

from Queenstown's legendary burger bar

Europeans first came here in the 1850s - sheep farmers. But in 1862 gold was found which, as with our old friend Melbourne, led the town to flourish. Just one year later, Queenstown had streets and permanent buildings and was becoming a prosperous mining town. Gold does run out though and by 1900 the population of several thousand a few years earlier had dropped to 190! Today, due to tourism I guess, there are around 23500 people living in Queenstown - about the size of Stalybridge I think - having tripled from 7500 in 1998. The place is full to bursting with tourists and the population is doubled with the influx in the Summer months. Weirdly, the majority of voices we heard in this town were either American or NORTHERN English! Gosh. I've never been amongst so many northerners (of ranging ages too) in the entire trip. The Americans were of the middle aged variety too, indicating perhaps that people don’t just come here to throw themselves off a bridge and get wasted, but that the beauty is a very real factor too.

Chris and I stayed in a wonderful chalet/lodge style place for our three nights here where a kitchen, bathroom and lounge were shared between two double rooms. There were spectacular views from the dining table and lounge area - it was a real treat. We ate in each evening, enjoying a bottle of wine or two - who wouldn't, with that view!

In all honesty… Despite the undisputable splendour, magnificence and beauty of it’s location, Queenstown is a very ‘squeaky clean’ place - everything looks brand new and it reminds me of some of the towns in the Lake District back home. Great skiing in winter means there are a lot of fancy hotels alongside expensive boutiques and chalet-style accommodation options, mingled in with the cheaper backpacker hostels. It’s nice, I just wouldn’t stay here for longer than a few days unless I were skiing here. It seems to me a town with no soul or culture of its own - any soul it has seems to be brought in by the cycle of boozing backpackers. It doesn’t seem to be ‘lived-in’, just visited.

Finding the gondolla way too expensive for our measly budget, we chose instead to walk up Queenstown Hill for some magnificent views down onto the lake and of the town.

Weirdly - and a HUGE difference from any experience in Australia - there was no birdsong to be heard during our entire hike. This was very noticeable to us having just come from Oz where the wildlife is so very loud and a huge part of the atmosphere. We tried very hard but just couldn't hear any birds. Wonderful views though!

A lot of the more leisurely activities are centred around the lake and nearby rivers - the oldies that we are, Chris and I enjoyed a gentle stroll around the botanical gardens where Frisbee golf was being played by a number of people.

We went to check out an underwater observatory and caught a glance of an eel amongst many other fish. Chris loved it here. It was funny to see the ducks bobbing on the water above and especially cool to see our first ever diving duck in action! The Scaup Duck can dive up to 8 metres deep and stay underwater for a whopping 45 seconds. Weirdly, they look silver under water even though they're completely black above it - it's due to the air trapped in their feathers while they're diving apparently. Very cool.

We also found the best mini-golf I have ever been to and I insisted we go to play. While we reverted back to childhood and I looked into every nook and cranny, Chris gave me a right thrashing. We even won a chuppa chupps lollypop at the end! What a great evening! Dad, you would have absolutely LOVED it and all the opportunities for competition at each hole!