Southern Lakes District

As well as jumping off mountains around Wanaka, we've also enjoyed the views from the ground. The scenery around Wanaka, Arrowtown and Queenstown has to be some of the best in New Zealand.

The lakes are surrounded by incredible snow-capped mountains, as you can see in this photo of Lake Wanaka. We really liked the town, too; it has a stunning location right next to the lake and lots of lovely cafes to relax in. We were a lucky with the weather and cloud-free blue skies and sunshine made it even more appealing.

 

Driving through the mountains is wonderful and we have to stop to admire the view every few kilometres. We loved this look out point so much that we spent the night there. Sitting in the van eating our dinner we doubted if any expensive restaurant in the world could deliver such an impressive view.

Arrowtown was a busy spot during the 1860s gold rush and, unusually for NZ, still retains many of its original buildings. The Chinese Settlement is a fascinating place, with restored huts and information about the tough lives of the Chinese who followed the rush. Arrowtown's a sweet little place now, with boutiques, chocolate shops and gourmet restaurants; I'm not sure if the gold prospectors would recognise it!

 

Queenstown is known as the centre for all things adventurous and we felt we couldn't leave without at least witnessing something extreme, so we went down to the Kawarau Bridge to watch some bungy jumping. I think that having your body flung around like that looks pretty unpleasant, to be honest, but this young girl was totally fearless and didn't even hesitate before throwing herself off the bridge.

While we were in the Southern Lakes District, we met up with my mum and dad and their friends Polly and David, who are also visiting from the UK. Polly and David had a lovely cruise on this old steam boat, The TSS Earnslaw, which took them out onto Lake Wakatipu.

Rob and I managed to convince my dad that paragliding is great fun, so he had a go from the top of the Skyline Gondola. Anyone who knows him will not be surprised to hear that he absolutely loved it! 

Rachel x