First Bit of New Zealand!

Even though you read our somewhat detached post about a big night out with our fellow hostel mates, Queenstown is an absolute must visit for everyone! All ages of people come to New Zealand to soak up all the awesome energy that makes this miniature city one of the coolest in the world. Everything in this country embodies quality, every meal we have had, every place we have stayed has been nicer than the next. When our plane hit down in the single gate airport of Queenstown, we knew it would be different from the last two cities we were in for many reasons; thankfully everything was cheaper, and the US dollar was a lot stronger here. We met up with Carley’s Dad Sunday morning and strolled around Queenstown on what you could call a food/drink crawl making sure every restaurant’s calamari and cappuccino was up to par. They were. We stumbled upon what soon became on of our favorite spots in this town, Eichardt’s Hotel. We made ourselves at home at a table that was calling our names. It had to have been one of the most picturesque and nicest dinner tables we had ever sat at (it was actually rated in England’s top ten places to dine for a sunset). We enjoyed calamari, some New Zealand wine, salmon and other tapas at a window, overlooking the sunset, sitting directly across the street from the main waterfront. Birmy has is first glass of port- and it was a mutual decision that it was a good idea to call it an early night.

After meeting some locals, we were pointed in right direction of where to watch the Superbowl. Birmy obviously got there early to secure seats closest to the TV and bar, to make sure he was comfortable enough to sit through a football game that did not involve the Ravens. 10 games of pool, a lucky streak for Carley, and many Bloody Marys later the Packers won, and Birmy was ready to start his day knowing the Steelers lost. 4 o’clock on Monday our time we were headed to the gondola to overlook Queenstown. The Allens were rubbing off on Birmy because he now had no interest in doing anything too adventurous; the gondola was enough for today; it was definitely time for some more Riesling at Eichardt’s.

After a nice morning run around Lake Wakatipu, the three of us began day 3.We were going to head out of Queenstown towards Cromwell to hit the wineries. If wine tasting is of any interest to you, New Zealand is a must to visit; and Amisfield Winery is a definite must for lunch. To our surprise, all of the wineries were smaller stone buildings all nestled into the mountains. We tasted some whites, and sat down for what was probably the freshest food we had ever had. We all shared caprese salad, salmon, cheddar, sausage and Birmy’s first taste of an award winning beetroot salad. In a complete daze of the quality of food we had just shared, we moved on to the second stop, Chard Farm. If you can imagine a gravel road that wraps around the steepest edges of the grand canyon, without a shoulder or rail, with distracting aqua water calling your name 1000s of feet down, that was what we were trucking along in a nice new Rav 4 to reach some of the area’s best Reisling and Pinot Gris. It was well worth it, and was absolutely indescribably beautiful. The farm dated back to the gold rush and, that lovely little road we crawled in on was the oldest trade road crossing Cental Otago. We tasted their complete range of whites, and soaked in the farm surrounded by nothing but steep mountains and greens. We progressed down winery row to Gibbston Valley where we indulged in more cheese and wine thanks to Birmy’s good driving. Everything in New Zealand and this side of the world, closes promptly, and they sacrifice nothing at the expense of work. Unless you are a restaurant or bar, come 5 o’clock, you’re closed. With that being said, we headed home with some tasty loot and decided where to head to dinner. Ballarat Trading Company is another absolute must visit in Queenstown. It’s a relaxed restaurant with amazing antique décor, with some great tunes. 1000s of calories later, Birm and Carley hit the town and Doug taxi’ed back a whole two minutes to the hotel, where we reconvened later so Carley could judge the Who Can Snore Louder competition hosted at the Heartland Hotel. Unfortunately (very fortunately), due to sleep enhancers she was unable to make the final call.

Day 4, one for the ages. A road trip to Glenochy. If you actually enjoy trilogies, and Lord of the Rings was your thing, OR if you just love the incredible country side of New Zealand, this drive should definitely be on your itinerary. This is one of the top drives to do in the world, and we were soon to discover why. Birmy got behind the wheel again and was ready for whatever the road had to offer him today. This was supposed to be a 45 minute ride, but it turned into over 2 hours due to all of the scenic look outs. It was a silent, and peaceful afternoon, as we only saw 3 people on our entire journey out. The “outdoorsmen” of the trip, “glassed” the coast, which apparently means looking through binoculars, while Carley admired the beauty while getting eaten alive by every bug born in New Zealand. The entire drive was along Lake Wakatipu, through the mountains, valleys, and meadows. If I wrote like Mark Twain, instead of Shell Silverstein mixed with Chelsea Lately, maybe I would be able to explain how gorgeous the views were. Any array of blue, green, and yellow was uncovered in the panorama of the afternoon. The lake was completely still, there was a gentle breeze, and we just cruised the countryside until we reached Glenochy.

We reached the town, but were unaware of it. No more than 100 people could have lived here, and it was the only sign of civilization for hours. It was unbelievable to think that a town really exists in such extreme landscape, with such little infrastructure, with hardly anything around. We went to the only restaurant in I guess you could call the area, and had the best sandwich and cookie ever. This cookie was handmade with 8 sticks of butter, a tub of icing, tea spoon of oatmeal, and a Rav 4 full of sugar. However, since it was “oatmeal”, or two oatmeal cookies glued together by icing, we decided it was healthy enough to eat; so we all treated ourselves to one (two}. We embraced Glenochy for all it had to offer, we took naps in the grass, relaxed on the beach, and enjoyed some local wine. After more relaxation, tranquility and silence than Doug had had in years; we needed to get back to “reality” in Queenstown.

Day 5, our last half day in Queenstown, before we were off to the small town of Te Anu, another miniature city bordering the Fiordland National Park, and famous Milford and Doubtful Sounds, we ended our time with a adventure- The Original Shotover Jet Ride. Even though our waiter told us that some Japanese man stuck his head out the side of the boat, and eventually was decapitated while taking a picture, Birmy convinced Carley to do the boat ride. It was an awesome experience! We boarded the jet boat, and went 70 km/hr through the Shotover Canyons. Coming nearly inches of boulders, while getting jerked around at what felt like lightening speed, we enjoyed the views of the river and the thrill of the ride; all well dressed in an outfit that looked like we were Russian Spies, or the flying monkeys from the wizard of oz. This too is a definite must in Queenstown, thank you Kendra! And we were off to Te Anu, to spend a relaxing night on the lake, before our day long tour of the Milford Sound!