The Traveller

Queenstown confuses me!

The centre of the town is a cross between a university campus, with backpacker hostels instead of halls of residence, a typical Friday night in most UK city centres (cue drunkenness, inappropriate clothing and kebabs), the seafront in Blackpool (haunted houses and stag nights) and the waterfront in Cape Town (expensive bars, international restaurants and tourist-related gift emporiums). It's a small place in terms of actual population but is more like a city centre, especially at night... the late opening hours, young population, nightclubs and a casino make it unlike most other places in NZ outside Auckland and Wellington.

Every other shopfront is for a tour company trying to convince you that their offering is really the only way to 'do' Queenstown. You can't just go for a river cruise, you have to go white water rafting or ride a jet boat at high speeds as close to the rocks as possible. A walk in some of the most stunning scenery I've ever seen has to be augmented by abseiling, rock climbing, parascending or throwing yourself off a bridge attached to a bungee cord. A leisurely bike ride along the lake shore must be replaced by high speed mountain biking on tracks with names such as vertigo. A scenic journey through old gold mining towns or Lord of the Rings film locations is taken to another level, with extreme four-wheel drive tours and off-road adventure. Don't just have a burger, queue up down the street outside Fergberger for the ultimate burger experience. Don't just have a drink in a bar, go on a pub crawl or have cocktails in a freezer! The goal seems to be to keep you occupied at all times... busy is good in Queenstown (and can be very expensive). 

Our experience of Queenstown was a little bit different - no bungee, no nightclubs, no pub crawls, not really any extreme anything, although we did get sucked in to some of the activities on offer. We stayed in a quiet little cabin just out of town with the most amazing view and no sound from the town centre at all. We couldn't quite see down to Lake Wakatipu but instead looked out on the Remarkables, one of the many mountain ranges that surround the town, with the Double Cone peak at the centre (I think I like that name due to its ice cream connection). I spent a good portion of my time sitting on the verandah of our cabin just watching the mountains... the changing light, the cloud patterns, the impact of rain (and snow) showers. I'm going to miss this view...

We did try out a few of Queenstown's more unusual indoor activities when rain stopped play on one of our days in town. Escape Quest involved imagining ourselves back to the gold rush of the 1860s. We were "locked" in a room and had 60 minutes to find and solve a series of clues to identify the identity of  the person responsible for a gold heist. The cryptic clues required us to search in books, decipher hidden messages and access secret chambers. It was lots of fun - a bit like the Krypton Factor meets the Crystal Maze - and taxed our brains just enough. The most amazing aspect of it all was that we managed to solve the crime without major argument... perhaps we should set ourselves up as private detectives when we get back! 

We also visited Odyssey, described by the advertising blurb as a journey of "amazing illusions, lights, sound effects, quirky obstacles and strange sensations that will indulge your senses and challenge your mind". Basically, we got to act like 5 year olds for a while... there was a giant ball pit, a room filled with balloons, a hall of mirrors (like on the seafront when we were kids) to get lost in and a rain forest to crawl around in. It was ridiculous but perfect escapism at the same time... It was fun! There was also another opportunity for mini-golf at an indoor "extreme" course, involving space rockets, gondola rides,  skiing and much more. You even got a lolly on the last hole, which slightly reduced my disappointment at another defeat! The holiday championship score still remains at 2-1 to Jon though... Indoor courses don't count!

On Sunday morning, we hiked up Bob's Peak, a hill just behind the town and also accessible by the Skyline Gondola. The walk up was hard work, with the bottom section not quite as steep but involving a bit of scrambling over rocks and climbing over tree roots. Occasionally, we would catch a glimpse of, or hear a whoosh from, a passing mountain bike as the tracks passed near the walking route. Mostly, though, it was quiet and peaceful and the views were spectacular on the way up and when we got to the top. 

The Skyline cafe also provided us with the ultimate breakfast pie, eclipsing Big Kev's offering in Coral Bay in Australia. After a sufficient rest and relaxation, it was time to head back down. I attempted to run the downward route (good practice for the Staffs Moorland Summer Series) and was doing pretty well until the rock scrambling sections... Getting down was definitely easier on the heart and lungs though! Rewards followed... we actually preferred the Fergbaker to the Fergberger (cakes win every time) - and enjoyed sampling ice creams, smoothies, mud cake, blueberry pie and lemon meringue pie during our stay!

On Monday, we ventured out to Arthur's Point and the Shotover River - the jet boat rides here are like a real life rollercoaster ride and the canyons very impressive! There was an interesting piece of WW1 history as we crossed over the Edith Cavell Bridge. A local man wanted the bridge to be named after the executed British nurse in recognition of her bravery, but local officials refused. His campaign succeeded anyway - he created his own signs for the bridge - and the name was adopted anyway.

Perhaps Queenstown is the travel equivalent of marmite... you either love it or you hate it, no half measures. For me though, it's a bit more like the Pretty Woman definition of opera... Perhaps I've learned to appreciate it, but it will never become part of my soul!  We really enjoyed our 3 days in town, but didn't feel the need to go "extreme" in any of our adventures. We did what we wanted to do and let the rest of the chaos pass us by. Even on our last morning, Queenstown could still surprise us as we watched the sun rise over the Remarkables whilst eating an early breakfast and the moon set behind Bob's Peak whilst standing at the bus stop!

We are now in Lake Tekapo waiting for the clouds to clear... we are hoping to visit the Mount John Observatory tonight to get a view of the night sky that will be as clear as it gets. This area is designated as a dark zone - low levels of light pollution at night - and a Gold Status starlight reserve. We just need the clouds to disappear, although the views are pretty spectacular anyway - photo below taken from the balcony of our holiday home. There are snow capped peaks in the distance, the lake is an amazing shade of blue and there are some perfect running trails through the hills and along the lake shore. It's quiet here and much less hectic than Queenstown; time to recharge out batteries and see some stars!

Happy Travels

Liz T.