Experiencing New Zealand: Queenstown

I think everyone’s experience of Queenstown is different. It is called the adrenaline capital of the world. Personally I don’t find jumping off things very fun, so what else is here for me to do? The answer is heaps! There is literally something for everyone in this picturesque town on New Zealand’s South Island.

What first drew me to Queenstown was the desire to ski again as I remember the last time I found it pretty fun! I am probably the worlds worst skier but I guess that just means I will have to return many times over for practice purposes! Look out for my post on skiing in Queenstown coming soon to the blog!

The second reason was a tie between spectacular scenery and cheap flights! These factors are high on my list of importance when booking any holiday!

Our cheap flights took us direct from the Gold Coast to Queenstown. I had recently read that Queenstown had won an award for the most spectacular airport in the world. This statement is 100% correct. Obviously I haven’t been to every airport in the world to compare but the standards have been set pretty high! Looking out the window as we approached land I was for a minute confused, in the distance I convinced myself we were flying towards some weird clouds as I couldn’t comprehend the vastness of the snowy mountain range we where approaching.

Flying into Queenstown saves you some valuable money on a scenic flight. We spent the entire descent glued to the window, mouth open in awe, snapping away with our phones hoping we could somehow capture what we saw.

After a couple of days on the mountain remembering the fun that is skiing, we decided to stretch our very sore legs and see what kind of fun you can have in Queenstown. We went for some of the most popular tourist activities as in this town they are worth it and your visit is just not complete without them!

From our hotel we took a walk along Lake Wakatipu, cameras at the ready, taking in the breathtaking scenery. I would never get sick of looking at those mountains, it is like being in a painting!

We then decided we needed a better vantage point so up the gondola we went. It is pretty expensive to go for the ride ($32NZD each) but once you get to the top it all feels worth it! The trip up was brilliant, and the views from the top just really put everything into perspective. With snow on the ground it was a little chilly standing on the lookout so we found refuge in the form of some large coffees in the cafe.

After making our way down it was time for lunch. For a true Queenstown experience there was only one place to choose, Fergburger. Chances are if you have talked to anyone about Queenstown this burger place has come up. Said to make the best burgers in the world we just had to see for ourselves. Usually the line is down the street but on our arrival we found it to be about half what it usually is, it appeared we arrived at the perfect time! Once ordered there was a 20minute wait, which when you see the volume of burgers that go through this place, is actually pretty good!

Now my husband and I are serious burger lovers so there was some pretty high expectations. I went with something a little different while he picked a standard burger. I think when comparing a burger with beef, bacon, tomato, lettuce and onion there is a level of awesomeness that cannot be surpassed. Therefore my husband did not rate his above some others he has eaten but equal to. Mine on the other hand was the Chief Wiggum, a burger containing pork belly, a hash brown and apricot seeded mustard. Yum! I mean there was pork crackle on my burger! It was amazing, and so huge that I nearly made myself sick trying to eat it all!

You should also stop in next door to Ferg Bakery, the selection of pies will make your mouth water! I love a good pie and I can safely say that their lamb shank variety was amazing!

Next, it was time for cocktails. With so many bar choices we went for something a little different, the Below Zero Ice Bar. That’s right, in winter we decided to go to a bar that was minus 10 degrees inside… The plus is they give you gloves and massive jackets so it wasn’t too bad, still only lasted around 30minutes. The cool thing about this bar is that everything is made of ice, the actual bar, the chairs and even the glasses. And the cocktails were pretty delicious. Being in this bar actually made the outside temperature feel warm, so that was an added bonus!

We did a lot more with our time visiting Queenstown, so watch this space for more posts coming soon!