Queenstown Area
Our next stop was Queenstown. This relatively smaller town on the South Island sits on Lake Wakatipu and is surrounded by gorgeous mountains. Queenstown caters to the adventurous outdoors person, which we are not. Still, there are plenty of sights around town, near town (and above it.)
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Along the Beach
This is a shot on the beach looking toward the Queenstown retail area.
Kawarau Gorge
The Gorge is narrow and deep, making it ideal for Bungee jumping, but also very beautiful.
Going Up to Skyline
Just a few blocks from our hotel is a gondola lift cable car that carries visitors up a mountain area that overlooks the town.
Lake Wakatipu From Sklyline
This shot over Queenstown shows more of the mountains in the background.
Across Lake Wakatipu
Also, this is taken from the beach, this time a view across Lake Wakatipu. The lake is long and narrow, and this shot is across a narrow part of the lake.
Arrowtown Post
Arrowtown is a quaint (somewhat touristy) small historic town with a historic main street. This building used to be (and maybe still is) a post office.
Scenic View from Skyline
This area has hiking, mountain bike trails, and go-karts, but we mostly took in the views, like this view across the lake.
Heading Back Down
This image is looking down the hill towards Queenstown.
Birthplace of Bungee
Outside of Queenstown is Kawarau Gorge. Kawarau Bridge is where Bungee jumping started, and it is still very busy today.
Arrowtown Main Street
Here's another photo of the Arrowtown main street area. There are some nice gift shops, a small museum, and some eateries. The cars kind of "kill the vibe," though.
View of Harbor & Gardens
Another Skyline shot, this time centered on a golf course, and Queenstown in the foreground.
On the Walk to Hotel
Perhaps one of the day’s highlights was sitting down for an excellent dish of ice cream on the walk back to the hotel.