New Zealand circuit - Queenstown; on the way to Te Anau - Day 14 - The 12th of March (afternoon and evening)

Once we finished the Ben Lomond track, we spent the afternoon strolling around the city, whilst doing some shopping. I took the opportunity of visiting St. Peters' church, which I had tried to go to before but couldn't because of being closed. I found its inside to be cozy and welcoming. I feel in such a bustling city as Queensland this rather small place could eventually be a reflective space.

 

 

By late afternoon we headed towards Te Anau, said to be the Fiordland National Park gateway. We were lodged at the Fiordland Hotel and Motel to soon be driven to the city centre, where we had a rather tasty meal at a local restaurant

 

New Zealand circuit - Queenstown - Bobs Peak and Ben Lomond - Day 15 - The 12th of March 2019 (morning and early afternoon)

We left fairly early in the morning so as to take the  skyline gondola up to the Bobs Peak, which provided a magnificent view over the Queenstown bay and the lake Wakatipu.

The actual Ben Lomond track, which we were supposed to cover, was in my personal opinion a bit demanding. The initial part of the walking track, from the Skyline access road  going up, was not so steep, though the increasing degree of difficulty could be felt as we were approaching the summit.

I don't know whether it was the fact that we had already completed several walking kilometres  in the previous two weeks and thus tiredness was finally showing its face or any other factor, but the truth is I didn't reach the summit having ten minutes prior decided to walk down again.

 

 

I spent an hour relaxing at one of the Bobs peak cafés and doing a bit of shopping in the souvenir shops, as I waited for the group to walk down.

 

 

 

 

New Zealand circuit - The first impressions of Queenstown - Day 14 - The 11th of March (late afternoon and evening)

 

We headed towards the city centre and the bay, having strolled around so as to get the first impressions and  I must confess we were impressed by what we saw. There were quite a few people both on the Lake Wakatipu beach and the shopping area. We tried to get into St. Peters but it was closed, so we  decided to have an early dinner at a quiet restaurant on one of the side streets before heading back to the hotel.

 

 



 

New Zealand circuit - On the way to Queenstown - Cardrona Hotel - Day 14 - The 11th of March 2019 (afternoon)

The last moments in Wanaka were spent in the city centre (including a visit to the Ice Cream shop) prior to collecting the luggage from the Hotel.

We set off to Queenstown, having stopped at the Cardrona Hotel on the way. We were all impressed by this rather unique, historic and iconic hotel, whose initial construction dates back to 1863. We managed to walk around its grounds, as well as visit a small traditional shop pertaining to it. The fact that it still looked like it must have in the past fascinated me. I wish we had had the possibility to be accommodated in one of its 16 bedrooms, because I feel it could have been a unique experience.

We stopped briefly along the way to take some photos of the mountain range. The landscape colours were breathtaking and we were all looking forward to getting to Queenstown, which we reached by late afternoon. We left the luggage at the Blue Peaks lodge and appartments where we would be sharing the appartment with two of our group members before heading to town.