Queenstown and Wanaka

On the road to Milford Sound

Queenstown & Wanaka

Queenstown from above courtesy of the cablecar

Our lovely property was about halfway between Frankton  and Queenstown on the western side of the Frankton arm this meant we had sun in the morning but we were in shade from about 4 pm as the otherside of the arm grabbed the last of the sun’s evening rays.We had a 2 bedroomed apartment which was well situated to give us expansive lake views.The bedrooms were on the lower floor and the lounge and kitchen on the upper floor.

Queenstown is the activity capital of the South Island ,even the whole of New Zealand.From here you can enjoy winter sports of skiing and other sports on the Remarkables, Cardrona and Aspiring mountain ranges and resorts.In summer the action doesn’t reduce it just changes emphasis you can do all sorts of water sports including rafting, kayaking, boating especially jet boating of the fast flowing rivers.All sorts of jumping from planes, bridges and mountain tops.Horse riding , quad biking flying planes, helicopters  in fact anything you want to do and buy the T shirt to show you’ve done it and survived..

Wanaka on the lake of the same name on the other hand is definitely more sedate but equally as beautiful and to my mind less commercialised than its bigger brother which is definitly  geared for the younger generations.

From Queenstown, which got its name as it was considered so beautiful as to be fit for a queen,we drove south at first then headed west and then turned northward again to stop at the Lakeside town of Te Anau .We are headed for Milford Sound where boats leave to cruise up and down the western  coastal sounds.This was a long days drive of around 600km but definitely worth it with stunning scenery that was  fulfilling all our preconceptions of what New Zealand would provide