Oh Queenstown, How I Love You!

Tuesday-Wednesday we were on the last leg of our trip. Anyone that comes to New Zealand has got to be shown Queenstown. This place is amazing and no words I can come up with will ever be able to describe the majestic beauty that this town possesses. It just has to be seen to be believed. It’s a place you never want to leave and can’t wait to return to. It is just magnificent. Even after my many many visits, I am left in awe of this treasure.

So obviously with my cousin visiting we had to take her there to show her the awesomeness that is Queenstown. As we made our way there she would say “Oh wow, this is a just a little bit beautiful”. The way she said it made me smile and summed up our surroundings perfectly. We headed from Dunedin to Queenstown and stopped in Central Otago to pick up some  fresh fruit – it’s where the best fruit in NZ is grown I swear! It made me miss home; where there are fresh fruit stores all around, no matter which suburb you live in. The house I grew up in was the original orchard of the area and we always had fresh fruit and veges growing. Without a glasshouse it’s difficult to grow these things in this southern, Antarctic breeze ridden place. I was like a giddy little child seeing all the cute little  fruit stores. Happy Chavah! My cousin picked up some deliciously sweet blackberries just like the ones I used to pick when I’d go on a bush walk with my Dad and our dog as a kid. I really really love things that ignite memories like that.

We arrived in Queenstown and took the kids for a toilet stop. They are great little travelers. When we arrived back to the car Andrew greeted us with the news that he’d just gotten off the phone to work and had taken an extra days leave if we wanted to stay the night. Umm, heck yeah!! We headed off to book somewhere to stay and then set about showing my cousin the sights.

Queenstown is made up of mostly tourists. Every store you go into you’ll hear a different accent as people pass through and pick up jobs while they stay a while. Each visit, you never know what you’re going to get. My point is proved in some of the photos below. Enjoy!

After some not so fabulous weather for the past few days we arrived to sunshine. The lake is packed with people and birds, the kids are watching  The Earnslaw leave the docks for a trip around the lake and some people heading off in a jet boat to go do some para sailing.

I love the name of this store. It’s what we use in place of the ‘F’ word here in NZ.  That’s also a close up photo of one of the t shirts selling at the store. It’s really funny but quite offensive.

Yep, that’s someone pole dancing beside the lake in the middle of the footpath. I think it was some promo thing. It’s always interesting in Queenstown! That’s a can of Fiery Barr’s Irn Bru, a new twist on a classic Scottish drink. When we bought the can the shop assistants told us that a group of young guys bought some cans the other day, took a sip and then poured them out into the gutter. All I can say is they must be a bunch of wusses It was actually much more mild than I thought it’d be! We all shared Andrews can and he took my one back for a Scottish workmate who’d been hanging out till he went to Scotland later in the year to try it. I hear he was like an excited child when he got it.

The boys walking along the wall. They couldn’t decide whether they wanted to walk on the sand or on the footpath and figured in the middle of both was a good option.

This I have to say, was pretty awesome. Walking through the park toward the playground there were some guys who had set up a tightrope. Not only was this particular guy above walking on it, he was jumping up and down on that thing. Look closely at the top photo and you can see his feet are in mid air. He was getting way up there! It was like he was on a piece of elastic.

The kids and my cousin having a bit of fun at the playground.

This is the first time I’ve noticed that the top of the restaurant by the playground has a crown on top of it! Quite fitting for this blog I think.

This was my cousins face when I told her that we were actually already in line for our dinner. Hilarious! She will probably slap me for putting this up.

This was what the line looked like. We’re all out on the street. This is Fergburger! A MUST DO when you are in Queenstown. It is like this no matter what time of day or night you go there. As long as that line is, it never feels like you’re waiting long.

After we placed our order we found a spot to squeeze into inside so we could hear when they called out to us. Even among  all the chaos, the customer service is great and everyone gets a little bit of one on one interaction with the staff while being served with a smile. I have never been disappointed going here. Obviously neither has anyone else!

We headed back to our apartment for the night, ate our dinner and got the kids washed and ready for bed. Everyone was still enjoying their day though so the children went to play outside on the rip stick. This pathway goes right along all the apartments and my daughter came back one time to tell me that everyone was in their apartment with the doors open eating Fergburger and there was a big group of people in the communal kitchen area doing the same thing. Told you – A MUST DO!

Boston ran out and just started cuddling his siblings. Of course I got photos.

This little monkey didn’t want to get cleaned up. Too much to do, too much to see.

It’s a good thing kids bounce! Now get off my bed haha.

My cousin and I decided to head out for breakfast and a morning to ourselves. This is Vudu Cafe and not only is it gorgeous but the food is fantastic. Fresh and gorgeous! It was my first visit there, I’m a big fan now. Cozy and bright, just what you’re after when you wake up to a grey day. From here we headed out to do a little bit of retail therapy and I took her to the Cookie Time store where we picked up a classic kiwi treat for her friends back home and my little tribe who had been off making a fun time of their own.

This is exactly how everyone felt on the journey home. Here’s to fun and making memories.

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Tagged as: barr's irn bru, cousin, fergburger, fiery, pole dancer, queenstown, tight rope walker, trip, vudu cafe