Queenstown and Milford Sound
It’s been 6 months of Covid-19 restrictions… a time where my travel prospects have been largely limited to my kitchen and balcony among other rooms in my apartment. Slowly, very slowly, restrictions are softening and air travel is resuming, but I’m realizing it will be a long time before the worldwide freedom of 2019 is tangible again.
So I’m here re-living last years travels.
In August of 2019 I took a two week road trip through New Zealand. Wintertime in New Zealand is magical. I haven’t been there in summertime, so I can’t really compare, but snow-capped mountains crisp winter air was a welcomed escape from the oppressive summer of Qatar.
To start I spent two days in Queenstown and Milford Sound.
My flight was from Melbourne to Auckland, so I had to hop on another short flight from there to Queenstown. Airports in New Zealand are great (or were great?). There’s minimal security for domestic flights. You walk in, check your bag and walk to the gate. Not x-rays, no lines for screening. It’s the smoothest airport experience I’ve ever had.
Queenstown is small. It reminds me a bit of a ski town (probably because it was winter), but it’s an overall adventure hub. There’s a whole bunch of sports shops around and lots of semi-classy waterside restaurants and local “cheap eats” to enjoy. I arrived in the afternoon so I had enough time to head up the Queenstown Gondola for some amazying views of the surrounding mountains surrounding the bay and the town below. I wish I had ended up doing the alpine luge, but ended up just walking around on some of the trails and sipping some mulled wine inside instead. That night I checked out Saigon Kitchen for some Vietnamese food. Qatar really doesn’t have much in the way of Vietnamese food, so when I found this place I had to eat there. It was pretty good. I actually really enjoyed the Calamari.
I stayed at an AirBNB just outside downtown Queenstown, easily walk-able at to get there and back. That night there was actually an earthquake so I can vouch that it’s earthquake proof. It was also nice and clean.
Oh and I got a rental car. Let me tell you left side driving is an experience. But what’s even stranger is how quickly you adapt. I was pretty comfortable after like 3 days. But then when I came back to Qatar and was right side driving again I actually felt strange for like a week. I think it’s because I was really concentrating in New Zealand to make sure I didn’t accidentally get in the wrong lane. It really stuck.
The next morning was my trip to Milford Sound. I ended up booking a day tour with Awesome NZ rather than driving all the way out there (it’s like a 3 hour drive to get there through some windy roads at the end). The bus came early in the morning. I forget what time it came, but it was still dark. The ride up to Milford Sound is spectacular. The mountains are gorgeous, especially with the morning clouds.
The bus made a few stops, including one with a bathroom before we finally arrived at Milford Sound. The tour included a boat ride, which was definitely worth it. If you’re driving all the way out there you haveee to get up close to the towering rock walls and waterfalls. We saw penguins and dolphins along the way too.
Milford Sound will take basically the entire day. When I got back to Queenstown I had some time for shopping. If you’re looking for a “souvenir” shirt definitely check out Roam NZ. It’s a bit pricy but super high quality - I still wear my shirt all the time. The designs are also really unique.
Before heading back for the night I grabbed some tacos at Taco Medic. Highly recommend.
And that was really all for Queenstown. If I could do it again I would have spent another day. But alas until next time. The next morning I headed north for the next adventure.