Wandering Around: Queenstown, NZ

January 14-19, 2016

The drive to Queenstown from Fox Glacier (the town) took longer than anticipated, partly because the speed limit was low, and partly because we stopped along the side of the road to admire the
view--at least when stopping was possible, which it often wasn't, due to the narrow, twisty roads with many one-way bridges:

Lots of one-lane bridges in the countryside. Here, the sign indicates that oncoming vehicles have the right of way.

On the way from Fox Glacier to Queenstown, NZ

Closer to Queenstown, NZ

About to descend to Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown. Windy pass.

On the way down to Queenstown

The view from our 'Bach', a basement apartment in suburban Queenstown. That's our rented Toyota Vitz, a Yaris in disguise.

Kitchen.

Living room. Looks like Leah is viewing a photo of Antelope Island, Utah, from our blog.

This apartment was not bad, as it was fully private. However, the fridge was a bar fridge, not a full fridge, which meant kneeling to retrieve items from the fridge. The apartment was fine, though, for exploring Queenstown.

Queenstown is a bustling tourist town on Lake Wakatipu. It's like Whistler, in Canada, or Telluride, in Colorado: lots of young people enjoying the spectacular scenery by hiking, kayaking, hang gliding, bungee jumping, parasailing, etc. Queenstown is also the jumping-off place for tours of Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, and other scenic spots. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of bars, coffee shops, night life and upscale restaurants. Prices for everything are quite high. Thrift shops were a bust, according to Leah, but the beach, the town, and the setting were all quite lovely.

Queenstown from the beach at dusk.

Same view a bit later in the evening

Still later in the evening, but looking away from Queenstown.

Waiting for Mexican food at Caribe Latin Kitchen, Queenstown. Not bad, but like most restaurants we visited, the portions were small, the prices large, and the food mostly middling--at least for our tastes. Actually, just 15 minutes before, we'd eaten tacos at Taco Medic--and they were good, but not a full meal.

Fellow diners at Caribe Latin Kitchen

Having a Starbucks decaf. Not bad, not great.

Queenstown at night.

Milford Sound:

Milford Sound was a must-see, according to...well, everyone--from our friends who'd been there, to New Zealanders we'd spoken with, to Lonely Planet, and to all the internet blogs and sites we'd consulted. However, getting there is a trip in itself. For us, it involved taking a 3-4 hour bus ride to the Milford Sound boat dock, then a roughly 2-hour cruise up the Sound out to the open ocean, then back to the boat dock for the 3- 4 hour return bus ride to Queenstown. All-in-all, about a 12 hour day, with stops.

Even though we really didn't want 8 hours on a bus, and Leah has to gird herself for any boat ride, we saw no other option if we wanted to see Milford Sound. So we boarded the Jucy Tour bus at 7:15 AM. The bus ride, itself, was less onerous than we anticipated. The driver and tour guide, George, was knowledgeable and informative, and we had the seat just behind the driver, so we had a good view of the scenery as we drove.

The Jucy girls.

Interesting story re: Jucy. This outfit rents vans, does tours, etc. all over the world. We've seen their rental campervans in both the US and New Zealand. In NZ, though, the vans feature an interesting slogan next to the iconic female shown above: "Don't play hard to get; be hard to forget". Lends some credence to the reputation (thanks, Mark) of New Zealand as being about 25 years behind the times regarding treatment of women. We don't see this slogan on Jucy vehicles in the US or Canada. Wonder about the rest of the world??

The Jucy bus.

On board

George, the driver and tour guide, suggested I sit next to him in the stairwell so I'd have a better view for photography. I appreciated that, but I knew that photos through a windshield would be less than ideal.