Ahh, Queenstown, the adrenaline junkie’s dream – we finally made it! I realise that many of my posts have highlighted our budget (or rather lack thereof) and let me tell you this one is no different. Given that Queenstown was one of the last big stop-offs for our New Zealand chapter – the purse strings were tightened once more. So what is there to do in a town that thrives on tourism, on a seriously limited budget? Fortunately for us, quite a few things.
Naturally one of the first places we explored was the Lake ;). Like many of the lakes in New Zealand, this one is gorgeous. However, at that time of year (March) the weather was veering towards the cooler temperatures and it’s not somewhere you can necessarily spend a whole day. Particularly given that it’s surrounded by stones and so lounging is not an option.
We then decided to embark on the skyline walk, which just so happens to be pretty darn tough and all reviews I have read since do strongly advise against it if you’re feeling a little unfit. After the Franz Josef Hike we naively thought we would be ready and rearing, but alas… The other way to reach the skyline is to ride the Gondola, though this is pretty pricey. Sidenote: by Gondola, they mean cable car.
It is actually an interesting walk if you can muster up the strength! There is plenty to distract you from the sound of your own panting… Not only were the views incredible; we were pleasantly surprised by how much there was to do up there! Hundreds of people whizzed past us on mountain bikes and luges once we reached the top. The luge rides are the one thing that we do wish we could have tried as they looked super fun, but sadly we strolled all the way back down with only our empty pockets to guide us ;).
We spent another day frolicking through the charming Queenstown gardens (I know I know, more gardens? Shock!), where we stumbled across the Frisbee Golf course and I didn’t have enough excuses not to partake. As you can clearly tell from these photos, Frisbee Golf is not my forte. But hey, at least I tried!
After my failed attempts at sporting activities, we wandered a while longer around the beautiful rose gardens, playing around with our camera settings in the hopes of becoming slightly more skilled. Having also failed at this, we strolled back into town to rewards our failures with a famous Fergburger, supposedly the best burger’s in the world.
Can you really claim that these were the best burgers in the world? I think not. Are burger preferences subjective? Most probably. Is this a real life issue? Absolutely not. The burgers were alright as far as I’m concerned, but I personally don’t feel that they lived up to the hype. So, we stuck to Maccy D’s with their free wifi from that point on!
Have you visited Queenstown? If so, do you have any activity recommendations for next time we go?
The guy you played frisbee golf with looks good!
He’s modest too!