Queenstown

We had 4 days free before our next cycle trip so decided to send the time in Queenstown. We had booked a car (a Corolla) before we left, so made our way to the nearby Thrifty to pick it up on Saturday morning. We were a little concerned when we were advised that they had to change our car to a mini – we did have a bit of gear.

It is nearly 500 km to Queenstown but we enjoyed the drive over the Canterbury Plains and then over the mountains. The Mini Cooper Countryman was fun to drive and we arrived in Queenstown about 5 pm.

We went up the gondola the first day and enjoyed the view and played like kids on the luge rides.

On the ride back on the gondola we met a local who had been up in the forest trying to keep the wilding pines at bay. He told us that he and other locals had been given plots of land to look after. It sounded like a good program but there are a LOT of pines. We wish them well on the task.

In the afternoon we drove out to Arrowtown, an old mining town about 20kms from Queenstown where we wandered the quaint streets, spent some time in the local museum and visited the old Chinese settlement.

On Monday we boarded the steamship Earnslaw for a trip across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station for a demonstration of shearing and sheep dog herding and a great BBQ lunch. Warren was a bit concerned by the list the boat had but the Captain assured us this was normal.

On our trip back to Christchurch we went via Wanaka, a beautiful town on a lake about 70 km from Queenstown. Below is the famous Wanaka tree, apparently the most photographed tree in NZ.