In my last post, I left you hanging on the edge of your seat. I hope the suspense was worth it. If not, I’m ready to give you a refund. So, why did I choose Queenstown? Well, one of my favorite travel bloggers, Lucky from One Mile at a Time, raved about it. I didn’t have any other plans, so I thought, why not?
I ended up booking a pretty expensive flight to Queenstown because I waited until the last minute and there weren’t any cheap options. I had to keep reminding myself that it was winter in August down there, which is peak season in Queenstown, so it made sense that flights weren’t cheap.
We flew from Wellington on an Air New Zealand ATR72. I usually like turboprops, but this flight was a bit rough for me. The weather in Queenstown was bad, so the closer we got, the bumpier it became. The turbulence felt like the back of the plane was going in a different direction than the front, which was a bit worrying. The approach path into Queenstown is between two mountains, so there was a wind tunnel effect that I wasn’t expecting. But, as always, I looked at the flight attendants, and if they were calm, I calmed down. Thankfully, they were, and we landed smoothly.
After picking up my luggage, I headed to the Ace Rentals office to see what car they had for me. I booked the Super Saver vehicle class, which is basically a car that’s about 10 years old with over 150,000 kilometers on it. It doesn’t have many features, but they promise it will run well and the heating and air conditioning will work. And it did. Plus, it made the rental a lot cheaper.
When I looked inside the car, I had to laugh because it had a manual transmission. I was excited and scared about driving a stick shift on the other side of the road, but I managed to get to my hotel without blowing up the clutch or crashing into other cars. Surprisingly, I found it easier to drive on the left side of the road with a manual gearbox than an automatic. My theory is that shifting gears helped distract me from the weirdness of driving on the left side of the road.
I stayed at the Hilton Queenstown, which was great. Hilton properties can be hit or miss in the USA, but they’re usually great abroad. The Hilton isn’t actually in Queenstown, it’s in the Kelvin Heights area, which is technically in Frankton. It’s about a half mile from Queenstown as the crow flies, but there’s a big lake in the way. To drive into Queenstown takes about 15-20 minutes. If you don’t want to drive, they have a water taxi that will take you across the lake for a fee, and there’s a bus service into town that requires a transfer at the bus station. I would recommend renting a car if you’re staying at this property, as the distance isn’t walkable and the other options add unnecessary expenses to your trip.
When I arrived, it was very cloudy, and I was suffering from jet lag, so I had a light dinner at one of the hotel restaurants and went to bed early. The next morning, I woke up at about 4am and caught up on some reading before the sun started to rise. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I realized what a truly special place I was visiting.
I decided to go out on the balcony to do some reading and enjoy the view. By the time I finished breakfast and returned, Lake Wakatipu was reflecting a beautiful mountain landscape. I then took a video tour of my suite for my Facebook friends.
Eventually, I left the Hilton and went into Queenstown to try a world-famous hamburger at Fergburger. Being from Texas, I have high standards for burgers, so I was curious to see if Fergburger would live up to the hype. It was very good. The ingredients were fresh and the wait time was reasonable. I enjoyed it so much that I went back a few more times during my stay. I wouldn’t go to Queenstown just for Fergburger, but I would definitely recommend it if you’re in the area.
After lunch, I took a walk around Queenstown until I had to go back to the hotel. I noticed a path that led to the parking garage also went into the Kelvin Heights area, so I went for a photo walk.
The next day, I had plans to go skiing, but I realized I didn’t pack my ski pants. Instead of going to the ski fields, I ended up reading a book (Ender’s Game, which I thought was fantastic) on my balcony. I read online about a great road called the Crown Range Pass, which goes from Queenstown to Wanaka, a town I heard was nice. So, I bundled up and drove to Wanaka.
Like I said in my last post, you can stop almost anywhere in New Zealand and get a great picture, so I made sure to stop often on my way to Wanaka. I ended up on the shores of Lake Wanaka at a lakeside cafe, where I enjoyed the views and did some people watching. With my eyes, camera, and heart full of these amazing views, I went back to Queenstown for a Fergburger dinner, then back to the hotel to get ready for my early wakeup call the next morning to visit Milford Sound, a visit I will never forget.
