“Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror.”
― The Lord of the Rings
Queenstown is a small town with a population of under 30 000. However, with hundreds of thousands of people visiting this town each year, it's one of the biggest tourist hotspots in New Zealand. There are two main reasons: it's an entry point to the Milford Sound, and there are all sorts of thrilling and relaxing activities you can imagine. I only managed to visit the town for around two days due to schedule conflicts, but that was actually enough.
Lake Wakatipu is New Zealand's longest lake (80 km). There's a small beach in Queenstown that people use to chill.
TSS Earnslaw is a steam ship built in 1912 and a popular attraction in Queenstown.
Skyline Queenstown
The Skyline Queenstown includes a set of attractions and activities. First, there is the Skyline Gondola that brings you up near Bob's Peak.
From there, you've got a great view over the town and the surrounding region. There's also a company offering tandem paragliding.
At the hill station, you can admire Lord of the Beans: an artwork made of 20 000 Jelly Beans. It took over 100 hours to build.
The Skyline Luge feels like a real-life Mario Kart, and the speed should not be underestimated. However, when I arrived, the lift back to the start of the track had a malfunction. People got stuck and had to be evacuated. I was the last person who was able to ride, before the operation has been stopped.
I've had a short walk/hike around the Skyline Loop Track. I would have loved to try the full-day Ben Lomond Track, but my planning didn't allow it.
Arrowtown
Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town, only 20 minutes away from Queenstown. There are many preserved buildings from the 1860s, including a Chinese settlement.
Lord of the Rings movie location tour
On my visit to Hobbiton, I learned about a Lord of the Rings movie set tour in Queenstown. In fact, there are two providers: Trails of Middle Earth and Pure Glenorchy. Both companies cover different places in a half-day tour each. They also cooperate, so you can book both for a full-day experience. That's what I decided to do.
During the tour itself, we've learned so much trivia about the movie-making process. I don't remember half of them half as well as I should like, though 👀
I will only cover some of the spots we've visited. The first one is the Skippers Road Lookout, from where you have a great view at The Remarkables. They are one of only two mountain ranges in the world that run exactly from north to south (the other one being the Rocky Mountains). But what's more remarkable is that they are used everywhere throughout the movies, so much so that they were called The Reusables internally.
The following spot appears unremarkable, but some of us identified it immediately. This is where the Battle of Ithilien has been filmed and where we can see the Oliphaunts for the first time.
The Anduin river from the first movie is actually the Kawarau river. It's near the place where the first commercial bungee site has been established — and it still operates today, as we could see from a distance.
My highlight was the area around Glenorchy. I didn't have this region on my radar, so I was glad to have visited it as part of the tour.
Pure Glenorchy has an exclusive right to enter a private farm with a great view at the place used for Isengard. I was even lucky enough to film a flock of ducks flying over this area, which felt like Saruman's spies are still active.
As a cherry on top, both companies own a large selection of replica props, making it a great opportunity for some nerdy photos.
Food
This is the first time since Doha that I include a "food" section. There aren't many specialities that New Zealand is known for. Apart from Kina, the only thing I have tried so far were savory pies. Originally filled with meat, you can now get them with all kinds of fillings.
I've also tried kiwi berries, which — unsurprisingly — actually tasted like kiwi.
After a friend mentioned that the feijoa tastes like soap, I somewhat agree.
Both fruits aren't native to New Zealand, though.
In Queenstown specifically, there are two places that I've heard about before. First, there is the famous Fergburger. Especially during lunch, the queue gets extremely long. They even had to restructure the sidewalk, as pedestrians couldn't use it. The burger was indeed good, but I wouldn't wait for an hour (or longer) to get it.
Then, there is Patagonia, known for their chocolate and ice cream. I did try "the best ice cream in the world" in Italy before, and I feel like Patagonia should participate next time. Italians probably won't award a company outside of Italy, though.
The nice thing is that both stores have a branch in Arrowtown, with almost no queues at all.