Hi mom (and anyone else who is reading). I promised to continue to write blogs for my final two weekends abroad and so here I am. They should both be good if I do say so myself and at the very least, will have different pictures with the places I’m traveling to.
Wednesday night, I fund myself struggling to fall asleep due to my excitement to go back to Queenstown, the place that really made me want to come to Auckland for my internship. After doing a few quick tasks remotely in the morning, I went to the airport and embarked south.
Ever since I planned the trip, I had a small worry that my return to Queenstown would be disappointing due to being 8 years older and having seen so much more of the world during that time. Doing research ahead of time, I felt that I had actually succeeded in doing nearly everything there is to do there on my first trip, though I was very excited to send more time in the town itself instead of just at the rink or at my host family’s home.
My worries immediately disappeared as soon as I stepped off the plane. I had written a college supplement on Queenstown and how impactful seeing the Remarkables is, but the view from the jetway was even better than I had remembered. I was absolutely stunned once again with the mountains’ heights even if I was a foot taller than I was last time I saw them. Walking back through the tiny airport brought back memories of me hauling my hockey bag through baggage claim, meeting my host family, and being very excited for the adventure ahead. I eagerly got in my Uber to my rented apartment and stared out the window the entire, awestruck by the beautiful scenery around me.
After checking in, I immediately went back to the Queenstown Gardens where the ice rink I spent so much of my time still stands proudly. I remembered talking with other kiwi hockey players as we put our gear on out in the parking lot and going up into the gardens to stretch before and after practice.
Queenstown Ice Rink
I then decided to take a quick lap around the town itself to find some dinner and settled on fish and chips. Being back in town also hit me with a heavy wave of nostalgia, seeing how much the playground had expanded, the red bricks on the road and, of course, the beautiful view of the lake from the beach.
Sunset on Queenstown beach
While I was eating, Sienna and I were texting and she invited me to join her and her family to try and find glow worms off of a nearby trail. I was very excited for this as I had wanted to see the glow worms but didn’t think I was in any of the areas of New Zealand where they were commonly found. I happened to be correct. We took a few different trail heads trying to find a cave listed on Google Maps but after about an hour of exploring in the 40 degree Fahrenheit weather (far colder than anything else I’ve experienced since leaving home), we ultimately gave up unsuccessfully. We pivoted and decided instead to go back into town for ice cream and then called it a night.
Friday morning, I rejoined the Henrys on a boat trip on Lake Wakatipu which was absolutely gorgeous. I feel that while I remember Queenstown being one of the most stunning places that I have ever been, I forgot how beautiful the lake water was as well. The boat guide shared that the lake is 99% fresh water due to being formed from a melted glacier and we were able to see through to the bottom of the lake at many spots along the cruise. We also had very nice views of the Remarkables and some of the most well-off neighborhoods in Queenstown (ones that face the sun all months of the year).
The Remarkables from the lake
Afterwards, I was invited to join for lunch at a Chinese restaurant for lunch and then we went and grabbed some ice cream. Since the rest of Sienna’s family was leaving that day, I showed them the Queenstown Gardens, retelling my own stories from my 10 days in town 8 years prior. We then said goodbye to her parents and decided to go back down into town to grab pints of Guiness at one of the Irish pubs before going to the Queenstown delicacy that is Fergburger. I didn’t remember this place from my last visit but it was a take-away burger restaurant that always has a line along the entire block. We knew we had to try it and stuck the wait out to have very delicious burgers along the harbor as the sun set. Once we were finished, we stopped in one more bar to watch a rugby match then called it a night.
Takeaway Fergburger
On Saturday we started the day by heading out to Arrowtown and it was as cute as I remembered. It happened to be the weekend of their fall festival meaning that it was extremely busy, but it was also really nice to see the small town so lively. We grabbed lunch at the local bakery and my brie, chicken, and cranberry sauce sandwich was very tasty. We did a little bit of shopping before heading back to Queenstown.
Arrowtown Exactly how I remembered it
The amazing Fall colors around Arrowtown
We then decided to split up for a little while as I wanted to go back up to the top of the skyline. When I was waiting to purchase my ticket for the gondola, I realized the price to do the louge was barely any more expensive than only taking the gondola and chose to purchase 3 rides along the track. I am so glad for this as I had a great time flying down the mountain as I had at 12 years old. I spent a while also taking in the view over the town, once again being taken aback by how blue the glacier water is and how beautiful the fall colors surrounding me were. I did a little bit of shopping at the store at the peak then headed back down to meet Sienna in town.
Looking out at Queenstown from the Skyline Lookout
The louge track
Before heading to dinner, we decided to watch the sunset on the beach. We chose to go to an Italian restaurant as we had both been craving a heavy meal and both decided on the carbonara which was delicious. We then grabbed ice cream again before calling it a night.
Sunday was Sienna’s last day in Queenstown so after going to Ferg’s bakery for breakfast, we spent time shopping around town. We then went back to work on our final presentations with an amazing view before she left for the airport. I unfortunately failed in my mission to catch up with my former host family from my first trip to New Zealand and ultimately had a quieter night listening to a street performer sing songs and play guitar in the middle of the town.
Queenstown from the beach at night
Sunday night I didn’t sleep great. This may come as a surprise, but this happened to be the most anxious periods of time that I have had my entire time abroad. Since I was in New Zealand’s adventure capital and had already been bungee jumping in the past, I thought I needed to do something else that would be a once in a lifetime experience. I planned to skydive.
After grabbing breakfast on Monday morning, I tried to walk my nerves off by spending a few hours along the trails surrounding the Queenstown Gardens. Whether it was the weather or my fear, I stopped and embraced all of the beauty around me, reflecting on how much I had grown since I was last in New Zealand. At noon, I brought my bags from the apartment to the skydiving center and was told that everything was still as planned. I killed the time after checking in after finally eating my first famous New Zealand pie and then returned for the safety briefing. Surprisingly, I was much calmer now even though I thought I would soon be plummeting towards the earth at 250 miler per hour.
After the safety briefing, we were told that the group currently at the airport were delayed by 20 minutes due to the weather starting to come through. Then, suddenly, the workers announced that all of the reservations for the rest of the day were canceled. I wouldn’t be skydiving.
An interesting bundle of emotions went through me next. Part of me was definitely upset as I had not planned anything else for this day and had an extremely nervous 24 hours before I expected to jump out of a plane but part of me was also very relieved and did not feel too disappointed. Surprisingly, I walked out of the building feeling any desire to skydive leave my body. When it has come up in conversations in the past, I always told people that if I were ever to skydive, it would only be in Queenstown due to the beauty of the landscape and significance the place holds for me. While this is still my feeling, I don’t feel as though the next time I go I need to book a time as a way of making it up. While I am sure I would have had an amazing experience had I gotten to skydive, I don’t feel like it is a must-do for me.
With four and a half hours (and a decent amount of money) freed up, I spent most of the rest of my time in town going into other stores that I hadn’t seen, grabbing another ice cream, and trying to take in the beauty of my favorite place on earth before leaving it behind. While I had an amazing time in Sydney, going back to Queenstown re-cemented its place as my favorite place that I have ever visited.