Tao 11: South Island 4 – Queenstown

Queenstown is only 60km from Wanaka through a mountain pass.  The decent from the pass is very steep, there was a burning smell from our car from all the hard braking by the time we reached flatland.

Top of the mountain pass

We stayed in Aspen Backpacker Lodge in Queenstown.  At $72 a night for a double room, it’s clean and affordable.  It also had the best Internet rates at $10 for 24 hours.  It may not sounded like much, but compare that with $9 for 2 hours, or $10 for 50MB we got elsewhere, you will see why we are happy.  We took the chance to upload all the videos and photos we have taken so far.

Queenstown is located close to three Nation Parks – Westland NP,  Mount Aspiring NP and Fjordland NP.  It’s also on the shores of a large inland lake.  As a result it became a mecca for outdoor sports.  The town’s also as touristy as it gets.

A pedestrian street in Queenstown

A large red propeller in the docks

View from the docks

Large statue of a Kiwi bird

Lake side apartments

View from above apartments

Queenstown Jazz Festival

There are three Chinese places in town, we picked the one with the best reviews – Lakeside Chinese Restaurant.  We ordered two dishes – scallops with Veggies, and steamed blue cod.  First one is so so.  I believe the scallops were frozen and not fresh.  The fish is quite good.  The place is pricy with $82 for the two of us.  If it costed $50-$60 it might be worth another visit.  As it is, there are better options.

Shop display after dark

Routeburn track is one of National Geographic’s top 11 hiking trails of the world.  Because it was still shoulder season, our drive there in the morning was quiet.  After discovering that our Camry could play mp3 discs, I bought a few CDs and loaded our favorite music.  Too bad I didn’t have LOTR sound tracks, it would have been a perfect fit for the scenery.

Enroute to Routeburn

Routeburn was not yet fully open because of avalanche danger in the mountain passes.  So we were just going to do a day hike to one of the huts and came back.  Routeburn Falls Hut is about 9km away at an elevation of 3000 feet .  We had heard people claim that New Zealand had the best hut system.  Now we believe it.  This hut is much better than any of the huts we had used in Tasmania.  The dinning area is wide open with many sinks, and the beds all have mattresses.  Very nice indeed.

Routeburn Falls Hut dining area

Outside the dining area, the rooms in the middle are ranger quarters

We met John, a friendly DOC ranger, and chatted a bit about the area.  He gave us suggestions on what to see and do in Te Anau and Milford, where we will be going tomorrow.  He also told us where we may be able to see Keas (mountain parrots).  Keas are named after their distinctive calls.  These parrots only exist in NZ.  They are rather large for parrots.  The males can grow to 1kg in weight.  Keas are very smart and inquisitive.  They will investigate any curious object and could do some real damage with their long, sharp beaks.

There is a story about how a kea manipulated door bolt and locked two hikers in the hut for an entire day.  I would rather think they pissed someone off, and the Kea was used as a scapegoat.  Regardless, we were looking forward to see these birds.

A section of the Falls the hut was named after

We continued our climb up to the point where the track was closed.  It was another 800ft up.  Part of the track was still covered in snow.  However, at the end we were greeted with the sight of Lake Harris, still half covered with ice.  There’s no one else around.  Still, Tracy wanted us to keep quiet, not to preserve the tranquility on the mountain top, but to avoid causing an avalanche.  I didn’t think there’s enough snow for that, but there’s no point arguing with an accountant (dodging pillows).

Going up from Routeburn Falls

Lake Harris, still partially iced over

At the shore of Lake Harris

Running from the wrath of the accountant

Track closure point, avalanche danger ahead

Tracy posing in front of rock cliff

Tracy admiring the view

Melting snow is treacherous, some places are just hollow layers melted by running water underneath

The walk down took much less time.  We’ve covered 22km today, not bad.

View from our decent

More views from our decent

Mountain valley seen from a clearing on the trail

Rushing mountain stream from melting snow

A little scared on this suspension bridge, capacity is 1 person

Pasture on the side of the road

We rested well after a long day of walk.  Tomorrow we would leave Queenstown for Milford Sound.