If you visit or live in New Zealand, you're likely to hear the following: "Have you been to Queenstown??"
Queenstown is known for being one of the most beautiful destinations in the country. Among Aucklanders, it's considered a posh getaway, perfect for winter sports and wining and dining. It's the kinda place you go without kids and come back with your wallet a whole lot lighter.
A few months ago, Shane scored some cheap flights to Queenstown (if you're local, keep an eye on those JetStar deals. Every now and then you get lucky!) and planned a weekend away for the four of us. Our first trip to the South Island. Our first look at the Southern Alps. For the kids, a first go on the ski slopes. We were really excited about the trip -- and Queenstown didn't disappoint. It is AMAZING!!
Flying into the region, we could see the Southern Alps out the plane windows, these incredible, never-ending mountain peaks covered with white snow. Shane and I have flown over the Alps one time together, and NZ's mountains do indeed resemble their European cousins.
On the ground, getting off the plane, our jaws dropped. The airport sits in a valley with rocky peaks reaching high to the sky all around it. The scene is. just. breathtaking.
And it only gets better! I took this picture from the McDonald's we stopped at on the way into town. The chicken nuggets taste the same, but can you believe that view??
And here's what downtown Queenstown looks like.
I mean...hotchy motchy, holy moly!!!
I've NEVER in my life seen a place so beautiful. And that's after a year exploring the incredibly beautiful city of Auckland. Queenstown is just on another level.
We spent our weekend doing what we do best: tramping around in the woods, cooking plain spaghetti noodles for dinner in the hotel room, catching critters with Pokemon Go. And we also hit some of the tourist-y spots in town.
We treated ourselves to hot, gooey cookies at the Cookie Time Bar -- twice. Cookie Time is a hugely popular biscuit brand in New Zealand known for its chocolate chip cookies. The Cookie Bar is just what it sounds like, a bar with fresh milk on tap and lots of ooey, gooey deliciousness for sale. Super fun. Super popular with one of the Adorables in particular (I'm sure you can guess who!).
We also ate takeaway from the famous Fergburger, a busy downtown restaurant that allegedly has the best burgers in New Zealand, if not the world. (Spoiler alert: Definitely NOT the world ;)
Shane and the boy took a wild ride on a jet boat around Lake Wakatipu. They were only able to do this because worry-wart mom was not watching. But everyone was safe and they had lots of fun. :)
By far the highlight of the trip was getting the kids up on skis for the first time. I went back and forth on if I wanted to spend the money and be out in the cold all day picking kids up out of the snow. But I'm so glad we did it. The experience was incredibly fun and so memorable. I was proud-to-tears watching them ski down the bunny slope by themselves for the first time.
We rented skis (and snowsuits; left those in our storage shed in West Virginia!) in town from a grumpy old guy and then drove to the closest ski slope, Coronet Peak, about 30 minutes straight up a mountain from downtown. The resort was beautiful with a fun family, party vibe. The ski conditions were great, and the weather sunny so it turned out to be a perfect day.
Shane and I walked beside the kiddos as they found their footing -- and they both picked it up pretty quickly. The girl enjoyed it so much, she and I went back to the slopes for a second day.
I remember when my parents taught me to ski, and I have a lot of memories of time on the slopes with my dad before he passed away. I didn't realize how meaningful those moments were until I saw my kids picking up the tradition and felt a bunch of emotions: happy, sad, excited, SO proud. It was really special to see them skiing and enjoying it -- and I hope we have a lot more days on the slopes together in the years ahead.
So that's a quick look at our trip to Queenstown. We will DEFINITELY be going back here. This mountain gal fell HARD for this town. And if you're planning a trip to New Zealand, everyone is right. You HAVE to go to Queenstown!
