A Slice of the South Island

This past weekend we decided to get just a taste of the South Island. A quick weekend getaway if you will. One word.

Mesmerizing.

The Southern Alps, Queenstown and lots of beautiful scenes captivated us so much that we’ve seriously contemplated living down there. Don’t freak out. If we were millionaires we would. But for now we’re just gonna have to see if we can become millionaires. All I know is that I had a hard time bringing my mountain-loving husband back to Auckland. Good thing this is the first of many trips planned to Queenstown!

We started out walking around the quaint town of Queenstown. Think Leavenworth + Whistler + Colorada + Swiss Alps. No. Still not quite right. The pictures don’t even do it justice.

We ate a quick brunch at Vudu Restaurant: brekky sandwiches, almond croissant, and coffee. Mmm! We walked around a bit. Well, more than a bit. Walked around for a while just taking in all the scenes.

Since we rented a car we had the luxury (in a Nissan Sunny!) of driving over to Arrowtown. We made our way around Arrowtown pretty quickly since it’s just a cute little town. Cute, quaint, and definitely a must-visit.

We checked into our resort and found this view out our window:

So lovely!

We then headed off for a delightful dinner at Rata. As is our fate, we usually end up wanting to order the same thing off the menu. So we both ended up with lamb. One word: perfect!

Queenstown in the evening is a treat. I suppose no matter the time, season or holiday, it is always buzzing. It is, after all, the #1 tourist destination in New Zealand.

Our resort came as a package off Grabone, which included breakfast, spas treatments, and massages. We soaked it all up! In fact, here’s Brock literally soaking it up!

After a quick work-out at the gym we headed off to Glenorchy. Ahh…Glenorchy.

Only about a 45 minute drive from Queenstown, it’s a place like no other. A jewel. A hidden secret. Here’s what we encountered on our drive:

After eating at the Glenorchy Cafe (amazing sandwiches!) and drooling over the scenes…we walked around in the warm Spring sun, discovered a little nature walk called the Glenorchy Lagoon, and stayed there…right on that bench…for over an hour. That’s where I would build our summer home, if 1) we were millionaires, 2) the town of Glenorchy let us, and 3) our family in the US let us.

The next day we were to fly back to Auckland. Brock didn’t want to leave. Neither did I. We walked around Lake Hayes we decided this was the home of our future ranch (25% serious here). But really, who wouldn’t want to live here?

We flew back to Auckland thankful that we would return again in November for hiking the Milford Sound Track and the Routeburn Track. Then again in January with Bob and Paula. Then again hopefully next winter.