Fit for a queen.......

As our plane descended into Queenstown, we were treated to some breath taking aerial views of The Remarkables and the lake Wakatipu. This small city is nestled between The Remarkables mountains and the lake Wakatipu. They say that this place got its name from the tag "fit for Queen Victoria".........thus Queenstown!

The Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu

Our 8 day tour of the South island, NZ started in this beautiful city. As the cool breeze blew in our face,we could not take eyes off

the stunning view of the snow capped mountains and the serene lake along the road. The month of June here, is the beginning of winter, so the snow was fresh on the mountains. Also, the trees were slightly green as the autumn had just passed. Soaking in the

beauty that we were surrounded we reached our Bed & Breakfast with a sense of high. Our friendly host helped us settle into our rooms and gave us some freshly baked scones to refresh. We were delighted to see that our room and the living room in the B & B also had the same view of the lake and the mountains. We were so happy and patted our backs for having booked this accommodation! :-)

After a quick lunch, our itinerary showed that we had to drive to Glenorchy. A small town that is almost at the tip of the lake Wakatipu, it is the house of many rich and wealthy in New Zealand who seek solace from the city life we heard. The weather was perfect and the drive was beautiful. There is no place like this we have ever been to....this was what we said to ourselves all the way we drove, soaking in the calmness and serenity of the nature. The short drive lead us to Glenorchy. We just stared at the mountains and rain drops that were now kissing the lake. The romance continued as we took off to return. As we reached Queenstown, it was almost dusk. The sun sets at 5 PM in winter and rises as late as 7.30 AM, so the days are shorter and it is challenging to squeeze in everything in a day's light. But t

hats the beauty of winter! The day 1 of our tour came to an end with a Gondola ride to see The Remarkables and the surrounding mountain ranges. We had a lovely stroll in the friendly city

and by the lake, and headed back for a good night sleep.

The Crown range pass

Day 2 started at 8 AM, after a sumptuous breakfast at our host's. The destination was Wanaka. The drive to Wanaka is through the Crown Range pass. The pass is home to one of the ski fields - Coronet peak. The ski field was just opened for the season. This particular drive is one of my favourites, the mountains were covered in some fresh snow here and there. They looked as if they were springled with some just the last evening! This was my first

encounter with snow and I was thrilled to see the white patches all around me.....it was yet another side of the nature I was waiting to see and touch all my life.

Things to see in Wanaka are the Puzzling World and the lake itself. The puzzling world had many mazes and puzzles and some tricks and mysteries of science. It took around 3 hours to see everything here, and then we headed straight to the lake. The water was ice cold and we did not dare to touch it! Both the lake Wakatipu and Wanaka are huge and deep, so the waves are just like the sea waves. They gently roar and splash the shore. There were joggers and tourists like us, everyone gaping at yet another mountain range back dropping the lake. Perfect with snow and a hint of vegetation, indicating the onset of chilly winter. We spent some more time, gaping, shivering and strolling along the lake. We were surprised to find an Indian restaurant even in this small town! Its amazing how we never found a problem in finding Indian food in this part of the world.......now thats the reach of our flavour and taste ;-)

Lake Wanaka

On our way back to Queenstown, we went to the famous gold rush town - Arrowtown. The small town has a museum illustrating the gold rush and its effects on the habitation of the Otago region. It was fascinating to go back in history of another part of the world all together. This town is neat and simple and has a friendly feeling to it. Every smallest town in this country has an Information kiosk, well equipped with all kinds of brochures and information leaflets, everything free of cost! This makes it easy for anyone to plan and make a good trip here.

Another day ended and our stay in Queenstown was coming to an end. Tomorrow was a day trip to Milford Sound and we needed to start early.

Continued in the next post.........