Queenstown/ Wanaka/ Glenorchy

Wanaka & Queenstown 2/26/17

After finishing Kepler, relaxing for an evening in Te Anau, we were ready to start exploring. We were originally planning to go to Invercargill, which is on the south coast of NZ, but Kevin's Huemul Trek hiking buddy (Josh) recommended that we go to Queenstown instead. About 2 weeks prior, we managed to rebook hotels. 

The drive there is about 2 hours, and the scenery is just stunning with mountain vistas all around you the whole time that just keep getting better as you get closer to Queenstown. The last hour or so winds along Lake Wakatipu which is the longest lake in NZ (80 kilometers). 

Lovely rural views

First 10 minutes of Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown far in the distance

Views keep coming

Unreal

After we got to the junction to go into Queenstown, we actually continued on the other way instead. We heard that Lake Wanaka (about an hour away) was a nice place to visit. It is the 4th largest lake in NZ. Given the perfect weather, we figured we should go ahead and take advantage of that. The scenic road we took started winding up switchbacks pretty steeply, but once we were on top, it was easy (well easy for NZ at least) driving again. 

Gorgeous viewpoint on way to Wanaka (this is halfway perhaps, after all of the switchbacks). Check out the curvy road we are on.

After a bit, we finally got to the lake. We stopped for lunch at an asian fusion place for lamb bahn mi and a lovely view of the lake. It turned out to be tapas, so we were barely full. Oh well. After we drove to another part of the lake where you can get an iconic view of a tree that is famously photographed there.

View from town center. Paddleboarders in the distance.

At restaurant... the panorama smushed Kevin's face a little. Sorry Kevin.

Cool, tall trees on way to see the famous lake tree.

Darrr she blowwws!

Just gorgeous

After that, why not go ahead and do an hour & 1/2 hike after we just finished a 4 day hike? Sure! The Mt. Iron Loop lets you get an awesome panoramic view of the town, the lake, another lake (Lake Hawea), and mountains all around. 

Town from the trail

Both lakes. Wanaka is on the left and Hawea is on the right.

Higher up view of town and mountains behind it.

Panorama near top

Lake Hawea

At the top :)

Looping around the other side there were some pretty tall bluffs! This side was a bit steeper.

We drove back to Queenstown along a different route that took us next to Shotover River, which has created an awesome gorge. This is from a viewpoint called "Roaring Meg":

"Roaring Meg"

We got to town. Checked into our hotel, which was near the airport. Then drove into town center to have dinner. Everything was paid parking, but $4 NZD for 2 hours isn't the end of the world. We tried to walk into one place first that was completely empty, but supposedly they were "fully booked". Haha maybe we smelled bad after all of our excursions. We then found a nice Indian restaurant for our meal and that was the day. Then, back to the hotel to make use of the free laundry machine, dryer, and dishwasher in our room. That was pretty awesome! Ah, the simple things in life.

Docks in town center Queenstown

Lots of lovely Willows with dramatic light on the mountains behind

Kevin is picking on the poor tree who can't stand up for himself.

Man, sunset in Queenstown is just awesome

Views views views....

Town center near the docks

Everyone is staring at the mountains and the lake. If you keep walking on this, you get to the Botanical Garden at the end.

What everyone is staring at.

View of the other mountain range next to Queenstown from our hotel room.

Queenstown & Glenorchy 2/27/17

We were blessed with another good day of weather. Josh had told us that we should also drive to Glenorchy, which was just further along the lake, with the town being just at the end of it. The views were incredible along the way, with snow on some of the mountains in the distance. Glenorchy wasn't exactly a bustling place, but we did a short nature walk. 

We then continued on towards Diamond Lake & a small town (not sure if I'd even call it that) called Paradise, which involved some dirt roads. The views there were nice, but nothing that special. Supposedly several films, including Lord of the Rings, did taping there. Then we switched main driver and headed back to town! This all managed to take up the entire morning.

Viewpoint on way to Glenorchy

What you are looking at above

At the end of Lake Wakatipu

Diamond Lake

Roads near Paradise

When we got back to town, we ate some lamb at an interesting hole in the wall place called "Pedro's House of Lamb". This is also something Josh recommended. Great recommendation!! There is only 1 dish you can order for $45 NZD and it is for 2 people. You can also get some warm bread too. They mostly deliver but there are 2 picnic tables outside. Man this was some of the best lamb we had on the trip.

Pedro's House of Lamb time!

Take a guess at what we did next. Ok of course we did a hike that allowed for a panoramic view of Queenstown. There's a hill in the center of town... and it's called Queenstown Hill. Very creative. The hike takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours and you gain about 1500 ft., but man the views are spectacular. More commentary below in the pictures.

They call it the Queenstown Hill Time Walk (since there are tons of plaques about the history of the area along the way) and this is the Time Gate. Kevin is being sucked in.

LOTS of cairns!

Basket of Dreams sculpture

Finally at the top - view away from town

View of other side from summit

Close-up - outskirts of town and dramatic range

Goats!

Another panorama from a different viewpoint, a bit closer to town (so you can see Queenstown center better on the right-hand side of the photo).

Going down the other side of the loop. Flowers!

Abrupt change in scenery on this side with a THICK forest!

Tiny storybook mushrooms everywhere!

And I mean EVERYWHERE!

A lovely hike. After this we drove back to Te Anau, arriving around 8PM. We had dinner then got to bed. Our plan was to begin our Milford Track hike the next day! The first day would be pretty easy, so were weren't too worried about all the hiking (Queenstown Hill) the day prior.