3/30/10 (lake paringa)
Lake Paringa-Queenstown
As soon as we woke up we started our drive down to Queenstown, which it self-proclaimed itself as the adventure capital of New Zealand. Every crazy outdoor adventure you can think of is available there. Bungy jumping started the hype and from there came jet-boating, paragliding and rafting. We thought you could also do zorbing but that was only in Rotorua so we missed out on that adventure. Many of our friends had recommended it so we’ll have to put that on the list for the next trip.
On our drive down we passed by some beautiful lakes, Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, and there was mini waterfalls right alongside our road. We stopped at a roadside waterfall, Fantail Falls, for a quick photo snap before hopping back in the car. We were on a mission to get to Queenstown which we had heard so much about.
One thing that we passed and didn’t get the chance to stop at was Central Otago known for it’s wineries and Pinot Noir. Another thing to add to the list of things to do next time. We did some wine tasting in Marborough (northern part of the south island) but they are mainly known for their whites.
As we entered Queenstown it reminded us very much of a ski resort with lots of outdoor clothing shops and people walking about carry plastic bags carrying mementos from adrenaline adventure. It was a bit of a sensory overload for us compared to the places we had been. When we checked into our campsite it was as if we entered another universe. There must have been over 100 spots for campervans and they packed us in there like sardines. Most of the campsites we had stayed at barely had 5 campers and some we were the only ones. This wasn’t exactly our type of adventure city. But we were city folks?! You would think we would miss all the action and people but all I wanted was to retreat back to nature.
We decided we had to do at least one thing here so we agreed on the gondola ride, which takes you up to the top of a mountain and you get a beautiful view of Queenstown. We went at night and had a spectacular night view. While standing there admiring the view we talked about the things we still wanted to do on our trip. One thing I mentioned was to do some more local stuff like seeing a comedy show or local band perform and going to a farmer’s market.
After we left the gondola ride we went to a local bar and guess what they had…a local band playing!! They were called The Blackspots and actually were pretty good. We even got crazy and stayed out till 11:30pm on a Tuesday night though every night feels like a Saturday night to us.
Like: beautiful raining scenery, gondola ride, The Blackspots
New Zealand, South Island in Daily Adventures
Reader Comments (2)
grandpa's this weekend. Just enjoyed dinner with your mom. Sounds like Annie and you are having a great adventure. Just enjoy everything.