One of my favorite locations on my trip was visiting Queenstown and the fjordland of the South Island, arguably some of the most beautiful landscape. Overall, the South Island is the more rugged but more majestically beautiful part of the country. If you've seen any of the photos of NZ like the ones that made me long to visit, chances are they were from the South Island (think Lord of the Rings, Mt Doom, etc.). Queenstown itself is one of the most active towns on the island, and in winter turns into a full blown ski resort town. Set on a lake and surrounded on all sides by the most remarkable mountains (including The Remarkables range... Ha...ha...), it's by far the most stunning town I've been to. I spent four nights there, and still wanted to stay longer. It's also known to have the best nightlife in the country, and it doesn't disappoint.
My first day in Queenstown I spent exploring the town and meeting people in my hostel (a great place called Deco Backpackers, owned by a friend of my parents neighbor's. She gave me my own double room, which was a huge blessing after so many weeks of dorms!). There are a ton of young people from abroad working in Queenstown for the ski season, lots from the UK but you will meet people from all over. The first afternoon I headed up the gondola for amazing views and a surprisingly fun luge ride. The gondola is one of the signature things to do in Queenstown, and brings you high up onto a surrounding mountain for stunning views of the town, lake and mountains. The views were incredible, I've included a photo below. The luge was cold, but fun. Kind of like a non-motorized go cart, you follow a winding path down the mountain, hugging tight turns and going really fast. Highly recommended, even if it seems a bit silly!
Day two in Queenstown was a day trip out to Milford Sound. Located about 4 hours from Queenstown in the fjordland, this majestic fjord was carved by glaciers and is an incredible sight to see. The day was really long... I showed up at the bus at 6:45am and got back around 8:30, but it was totally worth it. The drive didn't even seem that long, either, because the views were so amazing. Once we got onto Milford rd, we started climbing up and everything soon became a winter wonderland. It was amazingly beautiful, untouched snowy forests and rivers all surrounded by the tallest mountains you can imagine. My phone photos won't do it justice! We finally got to Milford Sound and went on a two hour cruise out to the Tasman Sea and back. The water is surrounded by huge cliffs that plummet straight into the water, with lots of waterfalls cascading over the sides and trees literally growing out of the rock face. Our nature cruise got us up close and personal with some of those waterfalls too... It wasn't warm. We saw more baby seals sunbathing as well, and overall it was just nice to be on the sunshine for a bit!
Queenstown day three was a ski day! I decided to take advantage of the slopes close by and see if I remembered how to ski again. A friend I had met in Fox Glacier came with, and together we headed up to The Remarkables ski range, about 40 minutes from town. It was a lot smaller than what I got used to at Vail this winter, but it was still gorgeous! We got there pretty early, but the day still went by too fast. I was just getting comfortable on the intermediate slopes when it was time to head back, since the sun goes down before 5 here. I guess I will just have to go back some day to finish!
One last point of interest if anyone ever goes to Queenstown- you HAVE to go check out Fergburger. I had heard about this popular burger joint before I came so I went my first night and was really impressed with the cheeseburger I got. My last night I went again with some friends from the hostel and got the fjordland deer burger, and I can honestly say it was the best burger I've ever eaten. Yes, better than H&F (although maybe they can both win since this one wasn't technically a beef burger....). I would go back just for that burger, so if you go, please go try it!
I'm wrapping up my trip and just have Christchurch and Sydney to catch up on! It's actually my last night tonight, and the feeling is really bittersweet. It's been such an incredible and eye opening trip, but I'm also ready to get home and have a normal life and routine again. And of course I miss everyone at home dearly! But I'll save the melodrama for later. Enjoy some photos of Queenstown, Milford and skiing!
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