Five Nights in Queenstown

We hadn't planned to stay in Queenstown for so long, but it worked out that way.

Having arrived in Christchurch on Thursday afternoon, we picked up our slightly down-market Nissan Bluebird and set off south. We got to Omarama (after a stop at a supermarket for groceries) around 8pm, where we were booked in at a motel for the night. It was just getting dark as we arrived, so we didn't appreciate the fantastic views from the window till we opened the curtains the next day to bright blue skies and the hills in the distance.

After breakfast, we started out on the road to Queenstown after stopping to photograph Omarama's monument to the merino sheep. We got as far as Cromwell around lunchtime so stopped for a break, a visit to the i-site office and lunch at the Tin Goose Café.

Then the drive through wine country (Bannockburn and Gibbson Valley) and passed old gold mining excavations to Queenstown, stopping at the info centre to get accommodation sorted out.

Great apartment at The Whistler. No views of the lake from here but we could look out across to the Skyline gondola ride. A lazy evening with a run to the supermarket, then a few beers and roast chicken dinner.

We had planned to go on a wine tour on Saturday - only it was fully booked - so we had a lazy morning and then set off with a packed lunch for a walk around Lake Hayes.

Sunday we got on the Appellation Wine Tour. Pick up from the apartments at 9.30am, and we were whisked off to Gibbson Valley to the first of four wineries. The trip also including a fantastic lunch (where we "bumped" into Jeffrey Archer), a not so good trip to a wine cinema and a walk round old Cromwell. Came back a little more light headed at 5pm and had more chicken and prepared for an early start the next day.

Taxi pick up at 6:45am then a transfer to a bus in town for a trip to Doubtful Sound. A bit too early to enjoy the chirpy commentary from the Maori bus driver on the way to Manapouri (which included a transfer to a second minibus). A trip across the Lake to West Am. Then a bus on the highest pass in New Zealand for tour buses and a very steep descent into Doubtful Sound where we picked up the boat for a 3 hour cruise. The weather was so calm we were able to go right out into the Tasmin Sea (something they can only do about once a month) and the sky so clear (it rains two days out of three), the photos came out brilliantly. On the bus back to West Am, we also got a trip inside the hydro-electric power station – a 2km drive to the mountain side.

Doubtful Sound - view up Crooked Arm

Then the lake ferry and the bus back to Queenstown made for a long day, and we didn't much feel like getting up early to move on the next day, so we arranged another night at The Whistler and had an easy morning and then a walk up Queenstown Hill with views back down into town and across the lake. It was a stunning if not a very steep climb. We didn't make the summit as the clouds were rolling in and it was getting cold, so we headed back into town and found a great Indian restaurant for dinner. It was BYO so we enjoyed the bottle of Olssens 2010 Summer Dreaming Rose, purchased at the cellar door. An enjoyable last night in town!