Queenstown, New Zealand

Wednesday May 23, 2012

Queenstown, New Zealand - 55 degrees and sunny

The flight from Sydney to Queenstown was just about 3 hrs. Beautiful smooth flight and gorgeous views flying over the mountains. Arrived around 2:30 PM, went through customs quickly and arrived to our hotel at 3:30 PM.

We stayed at the Novotel Lakeside which was very nice and again the location superb! Right in the heart of Queenstown and in walking distance to everything. The hotel was surrounded by the Incredibles Mountain range and right next to the beautiful Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown was wonderful and reminded me of an upscale ski resort. It was fall so some of the trees were in full Autumn colors. Queenstown was filled with quaint restaurants, pubs and shops and the food was marvelous everywhere we ate. We had some free time before dinner so time to check out the village and beautiful Lake Wakatipu next to the hotel.

 Tonight we found out we were dining at the famous Skyline Restaurant (See photos below). Way on the top of the mountain and the only way to get there was by the tram. This was truly an even and I highly recommend the restaurant. Not only was the food fantastic and I am not big on buffets, but the views are incredible (hence the name of the mountain range). This was one of the high lights while in New Zealand and not to be missed. As we took the TRAM up to the top, the views became more and more impressive. *Please note this restaurant is not cheap, but if you take the Collette Vacations tour it is included. Otherwise you can expect to pay for a round trip tram ticket and dinner $78 per person New Zealand Dollar which is about $65 PP USD. But as I mentioned it was well worth it. After we had our delicious meal and time to enjoy the remarkable views we headed back down the tram and were able to walk around the town since the stores stayed open until 10:00 PM. Great evening!