Queenstown- a unique union of nature and adventure

Jet boating with Thunder Jet on the Kawarau river set the right tone to our day in this adventure capital of the world. The hour long 80 km/hour speed boat with its 360 degree spins and sharp turns was a thrill ride for all of us. We took the sky line gondola up to the top of the mountain while Chinmay decided to hike up. We all enjoyed maneuvering our Luges down the curvy tracks, a sport that has its origin in Queenstown. 

My most memorable adventure from 7 years ago at this charming city is paragliding. Parishi and Kahan were also eager to give it a shot this time and they both announced that it was the best thing they had experienced in their lifetime. Taking off the cliff is quite a thrill and flying over the scenic town is pretty exhilarating too. 

Ice creams at Patagonia, a falafel sandwich from Pita Pit at the town center lawn, hanging out at the lake while the kids played in the frigid water and lazing around in the open crisp perfect weather at the Queenstown gardens summed up the rest of our day. 

We hiked back home early in the evening as “home” happened to be a seriously major attraction on this trip! The untiring views of this city on the banks of Lake Wakatipu from the floor to ceiling glass doors of our living room, bedroom and dining room were enticing enough to keep wanting more!

A semi home-cooked meal of mushroom tortellini and left over Indian food with some vino soaking in the views from the dining room was unanimously agreed upon as the best happy hour there can ever be! 

Queenstown- a walk down the memory lane

It was a leisurely pleasant drive to Queenstown with a few unplanned stops along the way, the one at the “Cheesery” half an hour outside of Queenstown was very interesting. Set amidst a winery, with their very own vineyard it was the typical laid back Newzealand vibe. We ordered a cheeseboard and nibbled on the 5 different cheeses, crackers, baguettes in the beautiful setting outside. 

Digish checked off Bungee from his bucket list at the famous Kawarua bridge Bungee. 

The highlight of the day and probably the entire trip was our rental condo- 74 Panorama terrace; hands down the most beautiful accommodation we have ever stayed at. With sprawling views of this spectacular town and the serene lake Wakatipu which it is perched on from every single room, the ultra modern furnishings and tastefully done interiors in the 4 bedrooms and the large living room with some of the best views in the world barely sums it up. We were all instantly in love with this place and as we had anticipated it was difficult to leave to go to town to explore and have dinner. More info on this website-

http://www.goodstays.co.nz/Unit/Details/49033

We drove into town (the apartment was about 20 minutes away from the town center) and strolled around with the mission of picking one of the many Indian restaurants. We landed at “Bollywood”, slow service, sub par samosa chat but decent tasting very oily main course. Walking to the banks of the lake Wakatipu was a walk down the memory lane, one which we had taken multiple times in our 4-5 days stay here 7 years ago!

Kia Ora Aoraki Mt. Cook

A long journey from LA to Queenstown with a stop in SFO and Auckland was well worth after all with the unique location of the Queenstown airport surrounded by the mountains. The same fresh air that had welcomed us 7 years ago seemed to take away all the travel exhaustion with the first few breaths. 

Driving in style in our 12 seater rental car, we set off for the road trip to Mount Cook. With the unspoilt open vastness, green pastures dotted with carefree grazing cattle, sapphire blue water streams and lakes and snow clad mountains in the back drop; it almost felt like it was our very own private screening of a 3D movie with surreal landscapes! 

With a pit stop at a cute cafe where the kids enjoyed their ice creams and a photo stop at a vista point, soaking in the  views of the majestic Mt. Cook approaching us, we reached the village.

The Mr. Cook village is a quaint and pretty village at the base of the mountains with alpine style roofed chakets, cabins and motels. The “motel” has a different connotation in New Zealand and stands for a small furnished one-bedroom apartment. Our Mount Cook Lodge Motel was a modern well-equipped apartment with a small kitchenette. The back door opened to a grassy common area overlooking the gorgeous mountain range.

After freshening up, we drove up to embark on our first adventure, the short, steep and extremely scenic “Tasman Glacier view” hike. The views at the top were the most rewarding views of the day- the vast turquoise blue Tasman lake with traces of what used to be the Tasman Glacier until it slowly succumbed to the brutal effects of global warming over the past several decades. The pristine beauty of this place and most places in NewZealand for that matter are truly unique for the lack of tourist throngs and the sparse habitation of this country. We simply could not get enough pictures with the views along the hike and all around us. 

The hungry bunch headed back to the motel where we had dinner at the cafe. The pumpkin, feta, pine nut pizza and the mushroom, bell pepper pizza were devoured by the four of us in a jiffy. 

It was time to crash after a long day of traveling and get ready for the famous Hooker valley hike in the morning after a quick breakfast in our small apartments. After all we gotta make the most of the less than 24 hours we have in this spectacular National Park.

Across the 7 seas (well, just 1 technically!) after 7 years...

New Zealand is where it all began- the idea to blog, a diary to capture the precious moments of a family trip for years to come. With a toddler and a kindergartener in tow 7 years ago, we knew in our hearts we’d come back to this wondrous natural paradise. 

With a slightly different itinerary, a slightly shorter trip, slightly heavier bags, slightly older kids, double the company with the Reshamwala family, we left all the baggage from the recent move into our new Home behind to embark on a yet another adventure to the land of Kiwis!