Sloppy Chic

 

After leaving the beautiful Wanaka, we were excited to go our next destination – Queenstown!

We were really eager as we have seen so many beautiful pictures of Queenstown online

The ride to Queenstown was not a whole straight road, we passed though endless winding road before we finally reached. If any consolation, it was the amazing view along the way!

There is a signboard that depicts the landscape of the city.

It was rather cold outside, thank goodness for the heater in car!

*Tip: Bring a thermos with you so you will have supply of hot water in the car because you won’t be able to find any starbucks along the road.

Once we landed, we headed straight to the town center and what greeted us was the sight of the red leaves!

We fell in love with the place already

One of the shopping malls in Queenstown.

It is not like our shopping malls, their shopping malls are smaller, and the highest I have been was only 2-storey.

We were sick of ‘anything n chips’, so decided to go Thai instead at Thai Siam.

They have special promo for lunch which selected meals were only NZS$10. It was considered cheap already.

After the lunch, we parked our car and wandered around the town.  Even a little church is beautiful under the always blue sky.

Gothca!

The parking in New Zealand is quite expensive, being at NZD$2 for an hour. They have this rule where the parking lots have signs that show P15, P20, P30, P60 or P120. It means you can only park your car for 15 mins, 20mins ..etc. And your tyre will be marked to not let you park at the same spot again.

Parking in major town centres was really a pain.

The weather was chilly but sun was burning. Only they could sun-bathe, I even had sunburnt even with sunblock already.

The famous Queenstown Lake, as seen it some beautiful pictures.

It was peaceful and serene. Maybe it is why the people there are more courteous than in Malaysia.

Our main spot for the day: Skyline Gondola!

The main activities are Luge ride and buffer dinner.

This is the centre where you will purchase your tickets ( we booked online but payment was only made on the spot).

Then you take the gondola (cable car) up the really steep mountain. Just like the Genting’s, except that this journey is longer and steeper.

Once we reached, we were amazed by the city view!

 

The luge ride!

This luge (pronounced as – looge) is similar go go-kart, but easier to ride and even kids can ride themselves!

You have 2 tracks to choose from, but first timer must go for the Scenic Ride and experienced riders can go for the Challenging track.

I got off the ride earlier so I could snap a photo

They do have camera to snap your photos, but of course, you can always choose not to buy it if you see yourself looking ridiculous in the photo.

The entrance to the restaurant.

After the ride, we had another 2 hour to spend before our dinner at 6.15pm. Other than browsing through the souvenir shops, you have nothing else to do. So, it is advisable to book the earliest slot. They have lunch buffet too!

Thank goodness for the spacious lounge where you can sit and play Angry Birds while waiting to be called.

Finally!

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to sit by the window.  But our view was good enough to look out nonetheless.

They have 3 sessions for the dinner and you have about 1.5 hours to eat before having to leave.

The dining area.

Water, coffee or chocolate are free but you can order wine too. You can see a trend which most of the Caucasians have wines on their table while Asians will just go with whatever is free.

The salad bar.

I did not take any more pictures after this as I think I was the only weirdo who snapped picture of the food!

They have mussels, scallops and prawns as cold dish.

And roast beef and pork too!

The pork was tender soft, juicy and savory!

Along the lounge, you can find the historical development of Queenstown.

In fact, nothing much changed since the old days. Everything is very well-maintained.

The night view of Queenstown. It was only about 8pm and it was completely dark already!

And it was freezing cold! From the Skyline to town centre is only about 5 mins drive.

After the ride down, we headed again to the streets before calling it a day.

The biggest pharmacy in Queenstown – Unichen. It’s like our Guardian, but much bigger!

The busy street in the day turned quiet at night. At least some shops were still open after 8

Then, we returned to our hotel and rested as we had another early day next! We had time of our life in the Onsen   Stay tuned!

1. Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 1 – Christchurch
2. Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 2 – Whale Watch in Kaikoura
3. Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 3 – Fox Trot: Half Day Fox Glacier Walk
4. Self-Drive Tour: New Zealand South Island Day 4 – Beautiful Wanaka Lake and Puzzling World