It is the second week of the 3rd term school holidays here and we decided to have a family holiday to see my folks in Gore and utilise them to look after the boys for a couple of days so Jolie and I could to head to Queenstown to enjoy what it has to offer. Thanks Mum and Dad!!
We didn’t stay too long but had enough time to have a good look around the remnants of the old Chinese gold miners village. It was nice for a change to get to read the display signs without kids nagging us to hurry up. They must have been pretty tough old buggers to have lived in the places they did especially during the harsh winters that the area experiences.
After Arrowtown we headed for our accommodation and then for a walk around Queenstown CBD and waterfront.
We spent a good couple of hours in a local craft beer bar called Smiths. It was pretty cool offering some unique beers. The barman knew what he was talking about and didn’t provide us any duds which was appreciated.
The next day we headed for Glenorchy and the surrounding area. From the hustle and bustle of downtown Queenstown it was great to get to Glenorchy and enjoy the quieter surrounds. There was great vistas on the drive up the lake and again the weather played its part.
We had a quick look around Glenorchy before we headed further up the valley to look at Diamond Lake and Paradise before driving to the start of the Routeburn Track.
From here Jolie and I decided to do a walk up to Sugarloaf Pass.
The walk up the track certainly got the lungs and legs working with 9km covered and a vertical climb (and then descent!!) of about 670m. The effort was well rewarded though with great views across the river delta created by the Rees and Dart Rivers and then looking the opposite way up the Rockburn valley.
After the walk we headed back to Queenstown but not before an ice-cream in Glenorchy to round out a solid day of exploring. The next day we packed up and headed back to Gore to see the boys and plan the remainder of the school holiday trip.
Wilderness Kiwis 