New Zealand Road Trip: Queenstown and Glenorchy

Well, here it is! The last post from our road trip around beautiful, beautiful New Zealand. We flew into Queenstown from Sydney – it was a three hour flight with one of the coolest, but also scariest, landings ever. The approach to the runway is between two mountains, and we were treated to an insane view over Shotover River as we made our way down through the clouds. The mountains surrounding Queenstown are called ‘The Remarkables’… and it’s easy to see why! We spent one night in Queenstown at the start of our roadtrip, and a couple more at the end. For our second stay in this beaut town, we were upgraded by our hotel to a beautiful apartment with a stunning view over Lake Wakitapu #honeymoonperks

Queenstown itself has the feel of a backpacker town, bustling with people sporting dreadlocks and floaty trousers. It feels fun, and lively, but also really safe. It was also one of the best places in NZ that we visited for food. We definitely made the most of being able to have some asian food – @Thai did brilliant noodles and delish curry puffs, and Wright and Wongs served an awesome Massaman Curry! While in Queenstown, we also realised how serious the locals are about Frisbee – the park is home to a Frisbee course , and we saw groups of friends playing whilst drinking beer and others who were just practicing. Safe to say, frisbee is not my sport… I was beyond rubbish at it! The highlight though, for me, was our afternoon at the Onsen Hot Pools. The hot pools are nestled on the hillside, and we were able to soak in lovely warm water, and watch the speed boats flying across the river. The only downside is that you only have 1 hour!! It really flies by. After the hot pools we took a ride on the gondola (courtesy of my friend Dan – who lives in not-so-nearby Franz Joseph and popped across to see us – Dan also wrote a guest post for this blog that you can read here) to watch the sun set over the town – the remarkables lit up, and the sky looked like it was on fire!

While in Queenstown, we visited the little town of Glenorchy. Our first stop Mrs Woolleys General Store which was filled with cute little nic nacs – I wish I had bought a t-shirt! After grabbing a quick brekkie, we walked the ‘heritage trail’ where we saw the teenie library and the insta-famous boat shed.

And that’s it! The last post from New Zealand – the most amazing road trip ever! I’d love to go back and see more of this beaut country – especially the North Island!

Watch the video diary of our New Zealand Road Trip here: