17/02/2023 From Cardrona to Queenstown

Cardrona

Drive up to Cardrona Alpine Resort

On the way to Queenstown, we stopped in Cardrona, where we drove up a very steep, narrow and dusty road to get to the Cardrona Alpine Resort. In winter these mountains are used for skiing whereas in summer people use them for mountain biking, cart driving and hiking.

We just enjoyed the view up there, before driving down the scary path again. (Luckily, Blake drove, but I was probably just as scatched out on the passenger seat.)

Have a beer in New Zealand’s most iconic hotel

Next we stopped at Cardrona Hotel for a beer, which is one of New Zealand’s oldest and most iconic hotels. The beer garden was beautiful with all the flowers and the inside had a very rustic charm.

Queenstown

Watch a live rugby game

In the evening we watched a live rugby game of the “Highlanders”. Even though we didn’t understand all the rules, it was really entertaining to watch and definitely a must-do in New Zealand which is a big rugby nation.

Go bar hopping

Since Queenstown is known for its many bars and clubs, we wanted to see what it was all about. We first partied with 60-year-olds and later in the night with 21-year-olds, which was quite the contrast.

Funnily, we ran into the English guy, who had stayed in the same Fijian homestay with us on one of the Fiji Islands. This is why we continued partying with him and his backpacker friends.

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18/02/2023 Queenstown

Waking up in a van when you had been drinking the night before is definitely not fun! Luckily, this was a one-off (I hope 😉).

Visit the Saturday Market

There is always a market on Saturday somewhere in New Zealand. So it happened that there was a market on in Queenstown, too. Unfortunately, this one was an artesian market only, which didn’t serve our food-loving needs. However, it was right by the waterfront and there was a live band which was great to listen to.

Eat at Fergbaker

…or not!

Since we didn’t get anything to eat at the market (one of the main reasons why we go to markets 😉), we went to “Fergbaker”.

Blake and I both love the famous Queenstown Ferg Burger (later more), but Fergbaker was a bit disappointing. We both think it is only this popular because of the famous Ferg Burger.

Go to the Sky City Casino

Relax at Lake Wakatipu

Afterwards we relaxed at Lake Wakatipu, before we drove to a tiny town called Arrowtown about 30 minutes away from Queenstown.

Visit the heritage town centre of Arrowtown 

Arrowtown is charming and quirky, a delightful gold rush village nestled beside the sparkling Arrow River and below magnificent peaks.”

arrowtown.com

The town mainly consists of one main street with a lot of quaint old houses. We wandered around the town, did some window shopping and walked along the river.

Not another big night out

Once we were back in Queenstown, we went out for some more drinks in town. (According to Blake it was a Saturday night, so we “had to” go out and see the night life 😉.)

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19/02/2023 From Queenstown to Glenorchy

Camping at beautiful spots

It’s always funny waking up at places where others pay millions in order to live there. The tiny little difference is that we wake up in our van and are often not even allowed to stay at that car park for the night. But who cares about the small difference – fact is we have the same view when we wake up 😉. Usually, we use the app “Camper mate”, to find free camp spots for the night. Usually, however, we get away with staying somewhere for one night, even if it’s technically not completely allowed to camp there.

Small acts of kindness

Visit the Sunday Market in Arrowtown

After breakfast we drove back to Arrowtown. Since it was Sunday and I love markets, we just had to catch the nearest market. Unfortunately, this one was very small and we were done within five minutes. However, I still bought a coffee to go and some vegan energy balls. As we said: we are trying to support the locals wherever we can 😉.

Hike up Queenstown Hill

Today was going to be an active day. First, we hiked up Queenstown Hill from where we had a great view over Queenstown and the lake.

Hike around Moke Lake

Next we drove to Moke Lake. The drive to get there was already beautiful on its own! While walking around the lake for about two hours, we had stunning views onto the lake and the mountains in the background from all angles. Shockinlgy, we even managed to get lost one time, which is hard to imagine if you are walking AROUND a lake.

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Enjoy the beautiful drive to Glenorchy

In the evening we took the stunning drive to Glenorchy which led along Lake Wakatipu the entire time.

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20/02/2023 From Glenorchy to Te Anau

Another great day ahead

Walk around Glenorchy Lagoon

After grabbing a coffee to go and some energy balls from the cute little café next to the car park where we had stayed the night, we were off for a nice one-hour-morning walk to the Glenorchy Lagoon.

Once we were back at our car park and had some tasty porridge with fruit and nuts in our camping chairs, we went on the beautiful drive back to Queenstown again.

We felt that after a full day of hiking yesterday, we deserved to treat ourselves today.

Relax in the Nugget Spa and book a private hot tub

With bookme.co.nz we got a good deal on the Nugget Spa in Queenstown. With the steam room being out of service, we even got a bigger discount. This worked perfectly, as we weren’t going to use the steam room anyways.

So relaxing!

Afterwards we spent another two hours in the main spa, which consisted of a sauna, an indoor hot tub, a cold plunge bath tub, an indoor swimming pool and an outside area with sunbeds. We absolutely loved it! And just like in the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua we could make use of the showers at the end of our stay. Since we were the only ones using the facilities, no one cared that we stayed an extra hour in the spa. What an amazingly relaxing afternoon in the life of two backpackers!

Eat at the famous Ferg Burger

You realise that this is not your regular burger bar when you see the queue clogging the pavement along Queenstown’s Shotover Street. In the 20 years since it began, Ferg Burger has become an institution, and for very good reason. Its wide range of burgers, from 3/4lb (340 gram) meat patties to tofu, are freshly prepared every day, well cooked, carefully assembled, and delicious. Ferg’s make everything themselves, from buns to sauces, and it shows. Their fame has spread worldwide, and time spent waiting in the queue has become an essential Queenstown experience.”

traveller.com.au

As soon as we had ordered and got our burgers, the line was back to three doors down. Sometimes you just gotta be lucky. We found a car park by Lake Wakatipu, took out our camping chairs and enjoyed our burgers at the waterfront. They really were amazing (even the meatless falafel burger, which Blake might not believe 😉).

Drive to Te Anau

In the evening we drove to Te Anau where we caught up with Blake’s family friends that happened to be in NZ at the same time. It was a great evening and worked out well as they stayed in Te Anau which was on the way to our next big activity tomorrow.

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21/02/2023 Milford Sound