Queenstown, New Zealand

I can’t believe how long it took me to get over my jet lag, but I finally feel like myself again.  We had a wonderful trip spending time in Queenstown New Zealand, Sydney Australia and Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef.

I’d like to share my trip with you this week but in a quick summary here are my thoughts: 

• Queenstown was stunning with natural beauty.  The atmosphere is lively with lots of fun outdoor activities for everyone.  If you’re a carnivore this place is for you because there’s hardly any veggies or fruit to be found anywhere.
• Sydney Australia was a big city.  Lots of great restaurants, sites to see, and like most big cities it had lots of traffic.
• Lizard Island was a small island with Lizard Island Resort occupying it.  A beautiful place, with lizards big and small walking around. White sandy beaches, and just steps away from the Great Barrier Reef – a massive fishbowl to snorkel or scuba dive in, with the most exotic fish, both tiny and enormous, and coral that was brilliant & beautiful, many bleached out from global warming.  This quaint resort catered to their guests making each individual feel as though they were the most important.  With just 34 people at the resort everyone pretty much became acquainted.  Stay tuned to hear who we hung out at the bar with later this week.

Last week I shared my Bungy Jump with you, our first day in Queenstown.  Without much time for rest that very next morning we were up bright and early to hike the Tiki Trail winding our way up through the pine forests of Ben Lomond Reserve some 450 meters above Queenstown overlooking Lake Wakatipu.

The first hour was straight up – I thought I was in better cardio shape but I found out quickly I needed some serious cardio training.  We made it to the top of Bob’s Peak where you can stop for lunch and other activities.  However, we had another 2 hours to go on the Ben Lomond Track but the rest was a relatively easy climb.  Having started at 6:30am we needed to be done with our hike by noon, grab lunch, and arrive at the helicopter station by 2:00 for a ride and tour of Milford Sound – the 8th Wonder of the World.  I turned around 30 minutes before everyone else since I tend to be a turtle going downhill and didn’t want to cause everyone to miss that tour.  Along the way we saw what looked like to be a family of Kea Mountain Parrots.  Watch this video on the Kea Mountain Parrot to learn more about them.

Heading back down to Bob’s Peak where we would all meet up for lunch the trek back was peaceful, with the crisp air, sounds of the birds, and view of the lake and quiet tracks.

We all made it back to Bob’s Peak by noon and grabbed a bite of lunch.  Then hopped on the gondola to our car and headed over to the Helicopter Station for a tour of Milford Sound – the 8th Wonder of the World.

More to share with you in the days ahead so please stop back………………..

In the meantime you might enjoy viewing the website on New Zealand destinations, and Queenstown – the beauty of New Zealand is beyond your imagination!