We had a pretty lazy start to the day, enjoying a nice sleep in. It was the first day of the trip that we haven’t had an activity booked or a car or plane to travel on. So we took it fairly easy and started the day by walking along the path to the west which we hadn’t really explored yet.
We were super excited when we left this morning to discover that it had snowed overnight!! After I posted yesterday we had gone for a drink at a local pub, and it had started to pour with rain. So I guess all that rain up on the high mountains turned into snow and gave us the beautiful white we woke up to today!
The views along the water were snowy and beautiful, and we had a laugh swinging on the swings the lake, commentating on how we felt dizzy after only a minute or so of swinging which made us feel old!
Next we went to the Ferg Bakery (next to fergburger) and got ourselves an early lunch. On the way we saw the TSS Earnslaw pull in from a ride. It had its maiden voyage in 1912, the same year as the titanic, and carried cargo mostly at the start of its life. Once roads became more prominent in this area its use deteriorated and it was nearly set to be scrapped in the 1960s. But real journeys purchased the boat and turned it into a lake cruise tourist attraction that still runs to this day.
At the bakery, we each had a steak and cheese pie and a cake. Both were amaaaaazing! Unfortunately the seagulls on the lake wall where we chose to sit thought so too because so many idiot tourists feed them. But Rob came to the rescue and squirted near them with his drink bottle, this got them away pretty fast! Then we got to enjoy our food in peace.
After our early lunch we went back to the room for a quick water bottle top up. Then we hiked to the top of Queenstown Hill. This was a moderately steep climb that took us about 2.5 hours all up with lots of stops along the way to admire the snowy views.
In 2000, a “time walk” loop was added to this track with some information along the way. William Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelman arrived in Queenstown in 1860 thinking it was unoccupied, but the Maori people had been living in this area for years prior. In 1862 gold was discovered and it was said that the “solitude of the lake, the uninhabited gullies and the lonely mountains had passed away forever”. After that time, 26 hotels were built in 1863 and lots of shops. In 1866, Queenstown was declared a municipality and the gardens were established. Then a rush to secure land under the agricultural lease system ensued. Coroner Peak ski resort opened in 1939 and meant that Queenstown became both a summer and winter holiday destination. During World War II, tourism slowed but after the war the government offered free holidays here for returned servicemen and their families. In 1961 the airport was built and nowadays Queenstown is a very popular holiday destination with a plethora of activities to do.
The walk itself was beautiful. We started off walking through forest (which interestingly is made up of pest trees that were introduced and multiply taking over the land from native vegetation). Here we saw a guy proposing to his girlfriend and we awkwardly walked past while we think she said no - eek!!
Then we emerged in a clearing and started hiking towards the summit. There was heaps of snow up top!! Part way up we saw a sculpture called the ‘Basket of Dreams’ and then enjoyed panoramic views up the top. At this point we were very glad we brought warm clothes because it was verrrry cold! On our descent via the loop track we trekked through very dense and dark forest and saw lots of toadstools. Overall we really enjoyed the walk and the snowy views today were lovely.
As a reward on the way down we went back to Ferg Bakery and enjoyed a yummy ice cream which we also ate sitting on the lake wall.
Tonight we are going to a pub for dinner. We aren’t sure what we are doing for our final day tomorrow yet as it is meant to rain, but we are going to check the weather out in the morning and go from there.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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