Queenstown: Something for Everyone

I would highly recommend the St. Moritz because it has a great view, is only a few minutes’ walk away from the main shopping area, the rooms are large and comfortable, the staff informative and friendly, and there’s even an breakfast buffet included each morning.

I was lucky enough to get a room overlooking the lake and the aptly named Remarkables Mountains. Each of the lake-view rooms has a small balcony, allowing the sweet-smelling air to gently ease through the window. I could see the passing H.M.S. Earnslaw, jet boaters, and people parasailing. It was very relaxing to simply watch out the window.

The walk back and forth to the main area of Queenstown was about 5 minutes (not one minute, as mentioned on their website). This is a quick walk to town when going downhill, though it is a rather steep climb when returning to the hotel. My father and brother, with whom I traveled, needed to take a short break on the way up, but it was still close enough for us. If you’re going by, you would be in town in one minute.

Our room was the size of a small apartment with a separate bedroom and kitchenette. The marble-clad kitchenette had a microwave and even a clothes washer/dryer (confusingly combined into one unit), which I was happy to see. My father inadvertently fell asleep on the plushy overstuffed chair on several occasions, and I was comfortable sleeping on a rollaway bed perched right near the balcony.

In the room, there is a tour book displaying all of the available tours that the concierge can book. All I had to do was tell the concierge which tour I wanted, and he booked it for me. When I was unsure of what the tour included, he was quickly able to give me the information I requested. Later, instructions were placed under my door with a receipt. The tour was conveniently billed to the room for the listed price.

Even if you don’t get a room with a view, the dining area also has the same stunning view that I had in my room. This is where you’ll find the daily tasty breakfast buffet. The staff here was very pleasant and the food was always fresh.

Summarily, this hotel is definitely in a wonderful location and will be plenty of room for your money, though it is pretty pricey. You definitely get what you pay for.

On the second story of the steamer wharf building lies this quaint restaurant that’s larger than it first appears. The Boardwalk overlooks Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables, at which I felt I’d never tire of staring.

The service here was the best I had in New Zealand. My waitress came by so many times, she was practically dining with us, but she was so friendly she seemed unobtrusive. I just had to think about being thirsty and my glass was filled.

The seafood menu was very extensive - I can’t even remember half of the stuff on it, and I like seafood. They had menus that clearly described the native fish and were inclusive of pictures.

If you don’t care for seafood, they also have New Zealand’s classic lamb and cervena (native venison).

They say that reservations are recommended; however, we were in Queenstown during the busiest time of the year (New Year’s Eve) and there was no way to get seated without a reservation a couple of days in advance.

Seek out Boardwalk for a seafood adventure and hopefully you’ll also get seated by the window to take on the sea via the view and the exquisite tastes.

This small peninsula offers a great view of the town and Lake Wakatipu while being on a small beach. Just a short walk to the other side of the peninsula offers a view of the Remarkables. This is fantastic sight at sunrise. There's also not many people there, so it heightens the romance.

They offered three tours: the “A” tour going to Wakatipu, the “B” tour going to Glenorchy, and a tour combining both. I went on the “B” tour and would have liked to go on the “A” tour, but I ran out of time on my trip.

I was picked up from my hotel promptly at 8:15 AM in a large four-wheel drive vehicle. Since the vehicle’s passenger capacity is six, there were two other passengers already in the vehicle, and we made one more pickup. We were on the road by 8:25 AM.

Even for a small tour, there was a diversity of people. There were two men traveling together, one from Denmark and one from Ireland, and a Korean couple. The man from Denmark was a movie fan, but the Irish man was not. The Korean woman was a super fan because she said she’d seen the first Lord of the Rings in the theatre 50 times!

Our tour guide, Stoney, was admittedly not a fan of the movie, but he was extremely knowledgeable. He was easily able to answer any of the super fan’s questions. I was impressed. Since not all were interested in the film, he asked us whether we preferred him to talk about the movie or New Zealand’s natural environment. He received responses for both, so he flipped between the two.

The scenery was fantastic. There were more photo opportunities on this tour than I expected. Everything was beautiful and it’s hard to believe that it’s all within 25 minutes of Queenstown.

We did go “off road” in the vehicle quite a bit, so it was great that it could handle the bumps. I saw some larger vans drive by and they did so with less ease than we did. If you have a very weak stomach, there may be some times that may make you queasy while driving up the mountain. Sitting in the front seats will fix that problem.

The web site states “refreshments provided” for the half-day tour, though keep in mind this means tea and cookies. We stopped on a small road for our teatime and it offered a view of “Isengard.”

Our journey took us back to Queenstown just shortly after 12:30 PM. Just in time for lunch!

Knowing that I would be in Queenstown this important eve, I had tried searching the web to find information about the goings-on. I really couldn’t find anything other than “Fireworks at Earnslaw Park.” I thought this seemed nice, but not enough for a whole evening.

When we were actually in Queenstown, we noticed that they were preparing for the festivities by setting up two large stages that are on the waterfront. There was lots of live music from before 8PM until after 1 AM.

There were thousands of people walking around the street listening to music and dancing. These people consisted of all age ranges. The larger stage provided more of a variety of music while the smaller stage catered to the younger audience with more recent pop music. Families were here as well as we younger ones who like to drink on New Year’s Eve.

Interestingly, the city does not allow drinking in the streets during this time of the year unless it is in the designated, gated off drinking area in which they sell alcohol. I thought it to resemble some kind of “drunk tank” while being in there separated from the rest of the non-drinking gang, but I guess the officials felt they needed to ensure that the families wouldn’t be bothered by the drunks. It was still fine though since I could hear the music and see the musicians from my drunk tank. Of course, alcohol it is also permitted in the pubs, but since it was a fantastic night, I much preferred the fresh air.

The town was also very safe and there were tons of police officers along with hired security for that evening. The security wore black shirts with white lettering that read, “I see drunk people.” They were pretty obvious! I didn’t see the need for so many of them though as no one got feisty enough to require their “services.”

Since the police officers weren’t too busy, I even got one to let me take a video with him while I wore his hat. I wanted the picture since he looked like pictures I’ve seen of Canadian mounties. He was a really good sport about it!

At midnight, there were indeed fireworks. They lasted for a few minutes and were a nice highlight to the large crowd’s countdown. Being outside during the best part of a Queenstown summer, with such a great turnout was really enjoyable. I’ve been to Times Square and other large cities for New Year’s, but this one had just the right sized crowd.

After midnight, when my dad and brother turned in, I decided that since it seemed so safe, I’d stay around outside by myself. There was still dancing going on, so I thought I’d join in the fun a bit more. The city’s so friendly that I soon found a bunch of people who danced with me. They ended up being my bar-hopping buddies the next night!

Overall, if you enjoy being outside and getting to walk around and dance for New Year’s Eve, this is the place!

If you like heights as I do, the gondola’s slow vertical incline is perfect for taking in Queenstown’s natural wonders. If you can, position yourself so you’re seated facing away from the peak in order to take in the full view. If you can’t, there will be plenty of photo opportunities at the top.

If you’ve got “the munchies” while up there, the food at the snack shop when exiting the gondola is reasonably priced and tasty for a tourist attraction. I bought a tart which was about NZ$3.00.

Once you exit the gondola, you can still journey to the peak where there is the luge, and a device resembling a ski lift takes you there. Only difference (aside from the lack of skis and snow) is that they attach the luge, which looks like a sled with handlebars, to the bottom of the lift, allowing the lift to carry it to the peak.

You may go down the luge once or multiple times. If you intend to do the latter, buy a ticket for several rides, as this is a better value. The first time you ride, they require you to use the “beginner” luge course. Next, to show you’re now an expert, they stamp your hand, which allows you to try the “advanced” course on the next and subsequent rides.

If you’ve no desire to ride the luge, I’d recommend that you still take the lift up for the views. You can walk down from the top. You may also enjoy watching the riders go down the hill and people taking off from the nearby tandem paragliding platform.