80. Bucket List Activities to Do in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Do you have a bucket list?
Have you been ticking things off it?
In this episode I drag Lyle along – literally- to another one of my bucket list items that I know is on many other peoples’ to-do-before-I-kick-the-bucket list as well. We start our day in the icy, frosty, freezing, pre-sunrise morning and end up floating 7,000 feet over the most spectacular scenery watching the sunrise over snow-capped mountain ranges. Trust me if hot air ballooning isn’t something you have thought about doing – then you will after this episode.
Next activity we share with you probably wouldn’t be classed as a bucket list item – but should definitely be on your to do list if you are in Queenstown and I believe that the end product of this afternoon class, that I once again dragged Lyle along, to is definitely a world first – I can guarantee that no other travel podcast in the world can say they have this. Here’s a hint – it smells good – and no it’s not wine.
One of the most popular activities, and for good reason, and another one I had to convince Lyle to do (there’s a theme here) is the famous Shotover jet boat. Actually, I had to be persuaded into doing this as well – by my grandsons, but it was so worth it.
It is a spectacular, Exhilerating, fun, entertaining, educational, visually magnificent and another life long memory activity to do in Queenstown.
Stay listening to the end to hear the about the activity that I absolutely refuse to do, Lyle too. No grandchild could persuade me to do this, but if you are braver than me you will want to hear all the details of this death defying activity that was invented in New Zealand. But you can – like we did, sit and sip fabulous Central Otago wine and watch the stup, I mean brave people take the plunge.
Hope you enjoy Episode 80 all about some fabulous, fun, exhilarating and downright crazy activities that you can do if you are visiting New Zealand.
SHOW NOTES AND PICTURES BELOW
Hot air ballooning has always been on my bucket list and it’s the same for many people. I decided that I wanted to do this in Queenstown in New Zealand as it is one of, if not the most beautiful places we have visited in the world. I found Sunrise Balloons online and after a bit of persuasion Lyle agreed to do this with me.
Lyle doesn’t like early starts (unless we are heading to the airport), he definitely doesn’t like the cold (and it was -4 degrees) and he was a bit unsure of the safety of doing a flight.
I don’t like heights, early mornings or the cold either - but even the views when we arrived at the launch site took my mind off my fears.
After the safety instructions and some quick photos we were weighed and put into our sections of the basket. It wasn’t feeling any warmer, but the heat when the flame was ignited certainly was a welcome bit of warm air. At this stage you are running on adrenaline and excitement as the balloon, ever so slowly and smoothly lifts into the air.
We flew up to 7,000 feet and were treated to the most amazing views of Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, the Shotover River, Lake Wakatipu and all the valleys and snow-covered mountains in this part of Central Otago. I have to say that my thought of this being the perfect place to do a hot air balloon was absolutely correct.
Sunrise Balloons has a shuttle bus that picks you up from your accommodation and takes you to the lauch site. Rock, the owner and pilot, gave us great information on how the balloon flies, where we were going and what we were seeing. He even titled us “Balloonatics” after our balloon ride. We flew slowly along the Shotover River and then all of the sudden the sun pops over the mountain in front of us and we are treated to the most amazing sunrise I have ever witnessed.
Before you know it, the hour long flight is coming to the end as we slowly descend towards a large paddock near the little village of Arrowtown. Rock assures us that the farmer has given him permission to land on his property and without even realising it, we are on the ground. We all jump out (well that’s a bit of an exaggeration) and watch as the enormous balloon as it starts to deflate. Rock asks us all to help deflate the last of the air out of the balloon and then it is folded up and put back in its trailer.
While this is happening a table appears with hot coffee, fresh orange juice, champagne and warm pastries. It is still freezing cold with frost all over the ground, but no-one even notices. We are all so happy and can’t believe what we have just experienced. It was definitely a bucket list item and I loved every minute of it and would highly recommend that if you are in Queenstown, then treat yourself to this once in a lifetime adventure.
Another fun thing we did - not quite as exhilarating as a hot air balloon ride - but definitely very unique was to do a perfume making class at Miller Road Fragrances, right in the heart of Queenstown.
Lyle decided to come along so he could contribute to the podcast, but in hindsight this wasn’t our best idea as Lyle hasn’t a good sense of smell, he had a bit of a blocked nose, and he distracted me as I was more concerned about counting how many drops of each oil he was adding instead of watching my own potion recipe.
Finally we got our act together and managed to listen to our teacher and follow the instructions and suggestions about the 60 different components that we had at our disposal to add to our mixture.
I loved smelling all the different bottles, and we even “blind” sniffed quite a few so we weren’t persuaded by the name of the fragrance.
In the end we both had a fragrance we were happy with. Lyle's was surprising good - and I love it when he wears it as it reminds me of our holiday in Queenstown. We had to name our own fragrances, Lyle called his Otago - very masculine and mine is called Beach Travel Wine. I believe we are the only travel podcast to have a fragrance named after them.
This is a lovely indoor activity to do in Queenstown. I would suggest you do it by yourself to have some self care time, or with a close friend who appreciates nice smelling things.
The Miller Road Fragrance shop is very pretty and worth a visit even if you don’t want to do the perfume class.
One of the iconic adrenalin activities that people love to do when visiting Queenstown is the Shotover Jet boat. The original jet boat was started in 1965 and today the Shotover Jet is the only company that has access to this part of the canyon. You can find out all the details about doing this jet boat ride here.
The surrounding mountains and landscape are so beautiful. We were lucky enough to arrive the morning after there had been a snow fall. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day, which was about to get a whole lot better.
The jetboat ride is exhilarating, fun and one of the best things you can do in Queenstown. The boat goes within a hair’s breadth of the canyon walls as is speeds along the rapids. The 360 degree turns are almost gravity defying and leave you breathless and wanting more.
I was able to do this with some family members including two grandsons, such a great memory to share and I would absolutely love to do it again.
The Queenstown skyline gondola is a popular way to see the views of Queenstown. When you are at the top you have a 220 degree panorama view of Queenstown and all the surrounding mountain ranges. It is also the only way (if you don’t want to walk) to reach the top of Bob’s Peak. It’s a great family friendly activity. The day we went it was sunny on the way up and then it snowed as we descended. It was like being in a real life snow globe.
The restaurant at the top is called the Stratosfare Restaurant and there is also the Market Kitchen Cafe. You need to book the restaurant online and the price includes the gondola ride and a buffet meal. There is a toddlers play area inside as well.
One of the most popular activities is the luge. You can purchase your tickets online or when you buy your gondola ticket. There are different levels so all the family can be involved. You can ride them tandem if you want to. Most of our family were able to ride the luge, with the younger children going tandem with their parents. I was on babysitting duty of the two babies, so I was able to enjoy the spectacular views from inside the restaurant.
Some of other activities that can be done - which you need to book separately as they are not part of the Skyline Gondola business - are bungee jumping, paragliding and ziplining.
In summer the gondola is used for transporting mountain bikers and their bikes to the top to enjoy many of the downhill tracks.
We always take the gondola ride whenever we are Queenstown.
There is so much more information and funny stories about all these activities, plus plenty more, in the full podcast episode. If you would like to listen then you can click on one of the players above or search for Episode 80 of the Beach Travel Wine Podcast on your favourite podcast player.
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