Christmas Vacation - Part II: Queenstown

After Blenheim, we flew to Queenstown, which is easily one of the most beautiful towns in the entire country. Whereas bigger cities such as Auckland and Wellington tend to clear out over Christmas, Queenstown was packed. It's a popular destination for both Kiwis and foreign tourists year-round. We spent a long weekend in Queenstown in July so Rob could go skiing, but were eager to return in the summer - and we were not disappointed!

We used Queenstown as a base for a few other adventures, including a day trip to Milford Sound (which merits - and will get - its own post) and a private wine tour through Otago on Christmas Eve. Rob and M were hoping to do a few additional things, including riding The Shark (watch that video - you've never seen anything like it!) and bungee jumping, but they were completely booked. Of course I was devastated for Rob that he couldn't jump 450 feet from a platform with nothing but a piece of elastic tied to his ankles, but somehow I managed.

D&L left New Zealand early on the 26th, so Christmas Day was our last day with them. It was a Christmas unlike any we've had before - sunny and close to 80*!  While many Kiwis spent the day at the beach, D, L and M headed up the gondola to try the Luge before meeting up with Rob and I at a Mexican restaurant for margaritas in the sun! For dinner we ordered room service and then headed down to the hotel bar to watch the sunset.

We were so sad to see D&L leave - but so grateful that they came to visit!  We are thrilled that they enjoyed themselves and glad that they can finally appreciate why we love this little country so very much. We hope they come back soon!

Our tiny plane out of Blenheim - you can see straight into the cockpit!  The flight into Queenstown is one of the more breathtaking flights out there - you come down over the lake between mountains before landing.

Rob, M and I all chose Canada shirts to wear that day - completely independently of each other! The bottom left picture is of the sky after 10pm on the longest night of the year. 

Our Christmas Eve wine tasting - the highlight was the hour we spent at the Nose, which has an aroma room. We smelled a bunch of different scents and then drank some wine and tried to guess what aromas each wine contained. We finished off our day with a lovely tasting dinner at Amisfield Winery, which is where Prince William and Duchess Kate dined when they were in the area last year.

Left: Bungee jumpers - one off the Kawarau Bridge and the other by a gnome into some wine bottles. Right: Some scenery shots, including the stunning river, which is actually that colour in person because of something to do with it originating in the mountains and  having certain sediments.

Christmas Day in Queenstown - M&L luging and Kiwis at the beach!

Thanks again for everything D&L - we had the time of our lives!