Day 7 to Day 9 - Queenstown & Wanaka

Continue from the last blog of my NZ trip.

Day 7

Rise early in the morning to start our road journey again. Next stop is Queenstown. It is 174km away from Te Anau.The resort town of Queenstown is sophisticated and fantastically scenic. Its lake and mountain landscape is suited to almost any kind of adventure

We reached Queentown at around 10plus in the morning so we look for our stay but not able to check in till 2pm. After that, we walk around the city before we stop at Brazz for our Lunch. When we got in, we are not able to order for lunch yet as it is not 12pm yet. It is only 11.30am so the waitress suggest we come back at 12pm or have a drink first. As outside is very cold and windy, probably 3 or 4 degrees, so we decided to have a drink first.

The breakfast menu is from 8am to 12pm. OMG, up to 12 noon still consider breakfast. Moreover, the breakfast is super huge. I tink it is good enough for 2 persons to share one plate.

At the strike of 12 noon, we order our lunch. As it was Sunday, there is a Sunday roast. Kin Mun ordered the Lamb roast and i ordered the traditional lunch special which New Zealanders like. Steak and Kidney pudding.

The portion are big especially the Lamb roast. The lamb was so tender. Really very nice. As for my lunch, it not too bad, just that the pudding is too filling and kidney got a bit of smell but still ok. if you dun like organs of animal then the roast will be a better choice. Roast is only available on Sunday.

After lunch, we do some shopping for our relatives and friends. Spend quite a lot in buying souvenirs. After that , we went to the lake nearby to see people doing adventurous activities like Jet boating.

As Queenstown is well know as a place for indulgence so night time is still bustling. Finally, i can do some night activities. We drive around in the city before we stop at Finz under for our dinner.
Kin Mun have steak while i have cod fish. It is not cheap to have dinner in NZ. The cod fish is nice but it is too small piece. we also had chocolate brownie as dessert. It was so mouth watering for the brownie. There was icre cream on top of the hot brownie. Hot and cold melts in my mouth. So nice.

Day 8

We decided to go for SKI at Coronet Peak at Queenstown. It was just 25 minutes drive. We went downtown to make a booking but alas, we missed the morning package for beginner which cost NZ$97/Adult. If to go for half day, it cost NZ$151/Adult so we booked the beginner package for the next day. The package consists of 2 group lessons, lift pass and ski equipment rental.

Since we are not able to Ski, we decided to drive up to wanaka to go to Puzzling World. You are able to find all sort of puzzles and illusions. There was a a great maze and both of us tried on it. It is really fun there. We are there for the whole day.

After that we drive back to Queenstown to rest.

Day 9

Skiing Day. Horray. This is my first time doing SKI. We have our lessons at 10.20am so we need to be at the peak at around 9.15pm as we need to register, take our ski equipments. Ski equipment consists of a pair of poles, a pair of ski boots and boards.

It was super cold at the peak. It was about minus 3 or 4 degrees. At 10.20am, we met with our ski instructor. His name is Simon and he was handsome and humorous. He taught us how to use the poles and lock the boots to the board.

After that, he teaches us how to ski on one boots, then two and how to jump with our ski boards, how to stand up if we fell. Very detail for teaching a beginner. The first lesson end at 12 noon. Second lesson start at 2pm. So for 2 hours, we ski around. We even go to magic carpet and try to ski down at a higher peak. Magic carpet is a conveyor belt which transport us up to the higher ground of the area.

At 2pm, Simon taught how to make bigger turns and to slow down. He led us to a much higher ground which is steeper to ski around. At this area, the magic carpet is malfunction so we need to stand without our boards clip to the boots. We really have a great time at the peak. Good time ended fast and it is 4pm and it is time for the peak to close. We returned our ski equipments.

If i have another chance, i will definitely Ski again. We didnt stay at queenstown for another nite, instead we drive to Lake Wanaka and stay there. Next stop - Lake Tekapo & Mount Cook.