Queenstown

Three hours and two short flights on from Napier we arrived in Queenstown, our first port of call on the South Island. The flight in was pretty spectacular with great views of the Southern Alps. The airport in Queenstown has a stunning location with a backdrop of the jagged Remarkables mountain range. It's then not long before you get a a glimpse of the crystal clear blue waters of Lake Wakatipu.

We were met at the airport by the next on our list of McLeods, my cousin Heidi and aunt Janice and there two adorable wire-haired fox terriers Milo and Muffy. We were to by staying at Janice's place in Arrowtown, a short drive away from Queenstown, so we headed straight there.



















Arrowtown is a very quaint old prospecting town, with many of the original wooden and stone buildings remaining form its heyday, after the discovery of gold in the Arrow River in the 1860s. It is now packed with excellent restaurants, boutique shops and art galleries. A veritable Marylebone High Street but with a back drop of stunning mountains.















After a lazy brunch in Arrowtow, we drifted into Queenstown for a look around, and to buy Rich some new hiking boots. Queenstown could easily be described as the the outdoor activity and adrenaline sport capital of the world. You name it, you can do it here. Soon you are overwhelmed by the weight of the leaflets you've picked up describing the different things you can jump off, swing from or speed down. The only problem is deciding what to do and how far you budget will stretch. Given that it was a beautiful day, we went for the jumping off the peak overlooking Queenstown with a bloke and a parachute attached option – i.e. paragliding. Despite being assured that this really was an activity any wimp could do, my fear of heights did start to get the better of me when instructed to run off the edge of the mountain. However, as at this point you are strapped to a large Kiwi bloke, you don't actually get much choice. Soon we were gliding over the pine forest towards the lake and it was totally worth it.














In the evening we opted for a more relaxing activity – catching a film at the charming boutique cinema, Dorothy Browns, in Arrowtown. Given it is to be our next destination, we watched Australia. I enjoyed it; Richard hated it. However, the bottle of wine and cheese board that we consumed during the film pleased us both.














Our next stop was to be my cousin Heidi's place in Central Otago. The drive there, through the Kkawarau Gorge, is very attractive with several places to stop along the way. First we watched several Bristish tourists taking the leap off the restored 1880s Kawarau Bridge at the worlds's first commercial bungy site. Watching a very green looking girl chicken out of the jump confirmed my conviction not to give it a go.

It was then on to the Gibbston Valley wine region, where the speciality is the Pinot Noir. We stopped for a pleasant lunch at the Gibbston Valley winery and then on to do a spot of tasting at Peregrine. The final stop was for a quick photo next to New Zealand's tackiest monument – a giant fruit bowl in Cromwell – it must have been a tough competition between this and the giant carrot.