24 December 2024 -New Zealand- South Island -Lake Wanaka

We woke to a lovely sunny morning with blue skies and I am sure the fights would be going to Milford Sound today. Never mind, but it was time for us to move on to Queenstown which was only about 67km away. We packed after breakfast and headed off.

We stopped in Wanaka for a good coffee and to buy some bread. We had shopped the day before but we needed some more bread. The road to Queenstown took us past Cardrona where we had quad biked and Jules had ridden. The road then started to climb and we were going between the mountains. The road was lined on both sides by beautiful lupins mostly purple but some white and yellow and this went on for mile after mile and we must be travelling through at their peak. There were no trees on the mountains but just shrub and what they call Speargrass and Matagouri – a spiky thorn type bush which apparently can give you sores and scepsis if you are not careful.

In fact, we were going over the Crown Range and what is known as the Crown pass which at 1076 meters is the highest  tarmacked road in NZ. In February 1860 two men Mr Rees and Von Tunzelman were the first Europeans to cross the pass searching for sheep pasture and then later it was used by hundreds of gold diggers. Horsedrawn carriages then began to use it as a route between Wanaka and Queenstown and it was only tarmacked in 2000. The picture of the day is from the top looking down to Lake Wakatipu with Queenstown on the edge of the lake.

We drove down the other side of the pass and had to go round many hairpin bends as it wended its way down the valley to the lake. It was busy with many campervans. We drove into town and found our accommodation which was a house overlooking the lake with a nice view. Once settled we walked into town which took some 10 minutes.  

Queenstown is located on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, surrounded by alpine ranges. It has a latitude of 45 degrees south, which is shared with only two other countries: Chile and Argentina. With its towering mountains and lakeside location it is a hub of adventure and likes to regard itself as the adventure capital of the world. It is famously the birthplace of bungy jumping and has many activities such as skiing, bungy jumping,  sky diving, canyon swinging, jet boating, horse trekking , river rafting, cycling, and hiking to name a few. It is surrounded by mountains, (The Remarkables) some with snow on them and has its own vineyards.

Queenstown has a population of about 28,000, but it welcomes more than 3.3 million visitors each year. Lake Wakatipu on which it sits is shaped like a lighting bolt and is the third largest lake in NZ. It reaches a depth of 372m (below sea level). Five rivers flow into it and only one out. The water is 99.9% pure meaning it is better to drink than bottled water and it is very cold about 11.5 degrees C all year.  

The town was busy and you get a sense that this is a young person’s place where they come for the adventure. There were lots of bars and restaurants and jet boats, party boats and parasail boats zooming round the lake. There were ice cream shops, burger places and some selling oysters. There were also some nice shops and this was more chic than Wanaka and busier. They say both towns are attractive and that Wanaka is less frenetic.

We found the restaurant we are booked into for Christmas Day which looked nice and then had to have an ice cream -when in Rome. We wandered round the shops and took in the place before heading back to our villa to relax in the sun and have some tea.

We had a steak supper with salad and broccoli with some nice red wine and watched a film. We are in a nice place and we should enjoy our time here.

Need/Opportunity Year Two

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I am in need of more crew from April to September so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com