Travel Recap: Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown is, hands down, one of the most incredible places I have ever been in my life. My husband semi-seriously asks me on a weekly basis if we can move there. This is by far my heaviest photo post so far, and I had to force myself not to include even more photos. I couldn't believe how stunning it was! 

The view driving from the airport to our hotel

Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

tips and advice:

• New Zealand is an island country, with two main ones -- the South Island (Te Waipounamu) and the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) -- and hundreds of smaller islands. Queenstown is on the South Island.
• When I was planning our honeymoon, I simply did not realize how much there is to do in New Zealand and I only gave ourselves a few days each in 2 cities (Queenstown and Auckland, which is on the North Island). Once I started actually mapping out a general itinerary, I realized I had made a huge mistake because there was so much in New Zealand that I wanted to do!
• Our airport driver said that not planning enough time in New Zealand is a common mistake tourists make -- they assume because it's a smaller country, they don't need as many days, but then once they arrive they wish they had more time. So please don't make my mistake -- give yourself plenty of time!
• Book weather-dependent excursions towards the beginning of your trip. That way, if weather interferes with your plans, you can at least try to reschedule while you're still there. We decided last-minute to do some star-gazing in Queenstown, but it got canceled because clouds rolled in, and unfortunately that was at the end of our trip so we weren't able to reschedule for the next night instead.
• I wish that instead of flying between Queenstown to Auckland, we'd rented a car and made the trip via car instead. There was so much I would have loved to see. Next time!
• I used the website Viator (affiliate link) to book several of our excursions in Queenstown and Auckland, and both the booking experiences as well as the actual experiences were great.
• When we arrived in January 2020, it was summer but still a little chilly -- I ended up borrowing one of my husband's sweaters at least once.
• If you're a Lord of the Rings fan, as I am, you'll love visiting New Zealand.

itinerary:

• Hotel: Kamana Lakehouse
• I adored this hotel. It overlooked Lake Wakatipu and offered gorgeous views from the restaurant/bar, the deck, and our room, and the entire atmosphere was extremely charming. And it was very close to the airport and town, just a short drive (or a long walk if you're up for it, although we were out of breath and sweaty the one time we walked back from town).
• Day 1
• Southern Lakes Glacier Helicopter ride to land on a glacier
• We scheduled this flight for the same day we landed in Queenstown in case weather was bad and we needed to reschedule, so just a few hours after landing at the airport, Southern Lakes Glacier Helicopter picked us up to return to the airport. 
• I actually was more nervous in a helicopter than I would have expected, but it was definitely a neat experience.
• You fly over where some of Lord of the Rings was filmed, so I was constantly quoting the lines (especially "the beacons are lit!") to myself as we flew.
• Day 2
• Milford Sound
• We booked this tour through Viator!
• This was another activity that we booked at the beginning of our time in Queenstown in case the weather was poor. In general, we had great weather in Queenstown, but we got extremely lucky in Milford Sound with tons of sunshine, considering weather there is so unpredictable and it rains 180+ days per year and receives 200+ inches of rain per year.
• We flew on a 7-passenger plane from Queenstown to Milford Sound, where we boarded a 2-hour cruise around the fiord, then flew back to Queenstown.
• Most tours offer the option to travel to Milford Sound on either a glass-topped bus drive through the mountains (approximately 5 hours) or a flight (approximately 30 minutes). We opted for the flight both ways since we were short on time in Queenstown and my husband loves flying, but the bus sounded like it would have been full of beautiful views. I much preferred the plane to the helicopter!
• This tour offered a hotel pick-up. Any time you have a hotel pick-up, I highly recommend confirming when you get in the van which company you're with, since so many tours are picking up people at the same locations. We saw a van waiting at 7am and asked the driver if it was for a Milford Sound trip but didn't confirm our names or the company names -- and it wasn't there for us, whoops! Fortunately it was also going to the airport, so we were able to meet up with our actual tour.
• Lunch at Rata.
• We sat outside, and both our meals (I had the lamb) were delicious.
• We were going to do star-gazing that night, but it was canceled due to cloud interference.
• Day 3
• Explored Queenstown, ate ice cream, and walked back to the hotel.
• Dinner at the Bunker.
• We tried to reschedule the star-gazing, but the clouds were just as bad, if not worse, than the previous night.

photo diary:

Lake Wakatipu. No filter (!)

The view from the Kamana Lakehouse!

The view from our room

In the helicopter on the way to the glacier! 

Sunglasses: Kate Spade (old but similar here and here, affiliate links) 

My husband loves, LOVES planes, so he was like a kid in a candy shop.

The beacons are lit!

Gondor calls for aid.

At the glacier

View from our plane ride on the way to Milford Sound

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Mirrored Clubmaster in green mirror (affiliate link) | Jacket: North Face rain jacket (affiliate link)

Our transportation! Shoes: Sperry Satin Lace boat shoe (affiliate link)

I wish I were a better photographer because my photos do not do this majestic country justice.

Back in Queenstown, wearing my husband's sweater, at Rata

My POV :-)

We stopped to get ice cream nearly every single day of our honeymoon and I tried to photograph every single cone.

My husband loves space, so the star-gazing was technically for him, but I'm still bummed we missed out. I took this with my iPhone and can't even imagine how much clearer it would be with the right equipment.

Refreshed, rejuvenated, and wishing I could stay forever!

where to eat and drink:

• Balls & Bangles (breakfast, lunch, snacks and sweets)
• Vudu Cafe & Larder (breakfast, lunch)
• Yonder (breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks)
• The Grille at Eichardt's (breakfast, dinner, drinks)
• Botswana Butchery (lunch, dinner)
• The Bunker (dinner, drinks)
• Fergburger (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and it's always busy -- order online and pick up!)
• Vknow Italian (check to make sure it's open)
• Rata (lunch, dinner)
• Pig & Whistle Pub (dinner, drinks)
• Cowboy Qt. Ltd. (drinks)
• Winnies (lunch, dinner, drinks)
• Nest Bar & Kitchen (at Kamana Lakehouse!)
• Rhino's Ski Shack (drinks)
• Minus 5° ICE BAR (drinks)
• Cookie Time Cookiebar 
• Patagonia Ice Creamery & Chocolaterie
• Mrs Ferg Gelateria

what to do:

• Helicopter glacier ride
• Milford Sound
• Wanaka Lavender Farm (approximately 60 minutes from Queenstown)
• Or wineries in Wanaka!
• Queenstown is the "adventure capital" of New Zealand, so there are many outdoors and adventurous activities -- whitewater rafting, bungee-jumping, zip-lining, sky-diving, etc
• Star-gazing
• Milford Track hiking
• Skyline Queenstown
• Onsen Hot Pools (spa)
• Boat on Lake Wakatipu
• Whale-watching

links I used or recommend:

• The Blonde Abroad - How to Spend 48 Hours in New Zealand
• Sommer Tage Queenstown Travel Guide 
• YTravel - 11 Awesome Things to Do in Queenstown New Zealand

From Queenstown we flew to Auckland, New Zealand -- you can read that recap here.

I'm legit counting down the days until we can start planning a return trip to New Zealand. Next time, we will definitely rent a car, so we can see the Wanaka Lavender Farm, Wishbone Falls, Tongariro National Park (aka Mordor!), and the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve!

love from