As part of our New Zealand South Island road trip, Queenstown is one of those places that we just had to go to.
Everybody, like literally everybody has mentioned this little place called Queenstown to us at least once. Before we had real plans for after Furneaux Lodge, guests would just assume that we were heading down to Queenstown. When we first arrived in New Zealand, people that we’d get chatting to would assume that we were heading down to Queenstown because we are two young Brits who must love a party.
So inevitably, we had to go and check it out ourselves to see what all of this hype was about.
Despite Queenstown being the adventure capital of the world, as you can see we didn’t do anything adrenaline junkie-esque. We were quite boring in that regard. However, in true Jess and Ben style, we ate lots of delicious food, drank lots of local and equally delicious wine, and enjoyed an evening in a hot tub under the stars. Also, we were only here for two days so didn’t fancy rushing too much more than we already were.
On our 10 day road trip, Queenstown was scheduled for after Mount Cook. We left Mount Cook Village on day 3 and spent two nights in Queenstown.
Check out our Instagram Reel above!
The Hop On Hop Off tour was our main event in Queenstown. With Central Otago being so densely packed with famous and boutique wineries, we couldn’t visit and not do something like this! (Especially as no one has to be the designated driver.)
About The Tour
We booked a half day tour with the Hop On Hop Off tour company. It does what is says on the tin, and the bus picked us up from town at lunch time and then dropped us back at 4pm ish. We managed to squeeze in four wineries plus lunch at Gibbston Valley and a quick walk around Arrowtown in this time.
The bus driver suggested to visit three or four wineries as more would be too rushed and not fit with the bus timetable.
We couldn’t agree more.
Arrowtown is a quirky place. Famous for gold mining when the first gold was found in 1862, Arrowtown was also voted the most beautiful town in New Zealand in 2020.
The Winery in Arrowtown was our first stop on the tour as it was closest to Queenstown (out of the wineries that we wanted to visit).
Instead of heading straight to the winery, we had a quick walk around the historic gold mining town. This was great as it was such a cool little place, but it really cut our time short in The Winery as we only had around an hour in each stop. Priorities guys.
This winery was completely different to any other winery or vineyard as they give you cards which you put into the wine pump machine. You then select the wine you’d like to try- whether it is a small taster or a full glass- and then it charges your winery card accordingly. You pay at the end. Speaking from experience, it is easy to rack up a rather large bill in a small space of time!
The range of wine here was phenomenal. It had 60-80 different types of wines, so you’re spoilt for choice! We tried everything from whites to reds to dessert wines and whiskey.
We did also go to The Winery in Queenstown later on in the day and continued our day of tasting! Some of the wines were the same, some were different so were glad we went to both stores.
We would love to tell you exactly what wines we had, but sadly we stuck our cards in and just drank far too many times to remember each one.
My favourite was the Rockburn Stolen Kiss Rose, 2022.
Jess’ favourite was the Akarua Alchemy Ice Dessert Wine, 2021. She did have an honourable mention though which was the Hawkes Head Pinot Blanc, 2022.
Wet Jacket Wines was the second on our tour, but we all said that it was our favourite of the four wineries we visited.
It did not look like much at all when we got off the bus and walked in. But we were so wrong.
The tasting session was personal and intimate, completely different from The Winery. It consisted of our group plus two other people (who were on their honeymoon, so if you stumble across this then congratulations again!), and our sommelier.
We were sat in what felt like a lounge, it had comfy sofas, a beautiful rug and an open fire- pure ambiance.
We tried six different Wet Jacket wines:
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- Chardonnay
- Gewürztraminer
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Pinot Gris
- Riesling
- Pinot Noir
You cannot buy the Wet Jacket wines from anywhere else, only from cellar door. Of course we had to buy something, so we bought a bottle of the 2022 Chardonnay that we tried. So, it’s a fairly special bottle of wine which we shall save for an occasion!
Stop number 3: Gibbston Valley!
A rather hasty decision was made when we arrived here. We were getting hungry. We had initially planned to stop here on the way back but the kitchen closed at 4pm and we didn’t want to risk missing out on lunch.
So we jumped off.
We had a super tasty charcuterie board here full of hams, salami, gherkins and cheese. With, of course, a side of chippies.
The wine tasting here was, again, completely different to our previous two. We got two ‘paddles’ of wines to try, one with Pinot Noir and one with an array of whites.
The Pinot Noirs:
- 2021 Diamond Pinot Noir
- 2020 School House Pinot Noir
- 2020 China Terrace Pinot Noir
- 2021 Red Shed Pinot Noir
Our joint favourite here was the Diamond Pinot Noir, as it was full, rich and a dark fruity flavour (but we won’t bore you too much with things like that).
The Whites:
- 2021 Pinot Gris
- 2021 School House Pinot Gris
- 2022 Red Shed Riesling
- 2019 Riesling
Our favourite whites were different, with Jess preferring the Red Shed Riesling whereas I preferred the blended vineyard Pinot Gris.
A successful outing to Gibbston Valley Winery!
Our final stop was another really small, boutique winery, where we met the famous dog from the front cover of Wine Dogs!
We got off the bus and had to walk down the drive to what felt like someones house. Once inside, we sat down next to the open fire- there seems to be a theme here!- and our lovely sommelier brought us over some water. We discussed what wines we’d like to try, as we could choose depending on the type of tasting that we purchased. These are usually priced at between $15-25 per person, so not too expensive.
The lady who took us through the wines honestly had such a passion for it.
She was amazing, full of energy and answered all of our questions. People like her take the experience to the next level and make it that much more memorable!
We drank five different wines here, but to be honest we’d had a few too many to make notes so, at the time of writing this, neither of us can remember exactly what we had!!
We purchased a bottle of 2022 Orange Wine. The grape used here is 100% Gewürztraminer. Another one for the collection.
The ONSEN Hot Pools were really something to write home about. New Zealand definitely has a bit of a reputation for unique and awesome hot pools, and this fits that criteria.
We are slowly visiting hot pools everywhere. We’ve visited the famous hot pools in Hanmer Springs which you can read about here, spent the afternoon at He Puna Taimoana at New Brighton beach in Christchurch, and various wood fired hot tubs.
The ones at ONSEN are a level up just because it was romantic, classy and so unique. We sat under the open sky, sipping bubbles, with the silhouette of the mountains in front of us.
Our Experience
We had a 21:30 booking at the pools, giving us time for a relaxed evening in town. We booked a taxi and had only a short ride. When we arrived we had to walk down some a beautifully lit set of stairs to get to reception (there was also a ramp making it more accessible.)
As part of the booking you get a drink and a snack each. We both chose a glass of bubbles and then a bar of chocolate and a packet of crisps to share.
We took a seat in the most beautiful lobby before we went down to the pools. Whilst there I asked Jess how to describe it and she said:
“it was like walking into a world of pure relaxation”.
The combination of music, comfy sofas and aromas in the air was an extremely relaxing atmosphere. Top job team.
We were then showed to our private tub by a member of staff who gave us a full briefing on the rules and how everything works, from the tub themselves to where to get changed. We were then left alone for the next hour.
It was only once we were there that we realised that the pool actually looks out onto the night sky with no window! So cool.
We had a quick shower then got in.
Once out we had another shower and got changed and could do it all in the same room.
Our Top Tips
- Book in advance. If you want a special time slot (e.g. sunset) you may have to book more in advance than you think.
- Take a water bottle! They provide water, but it’s always nice to have extra- particularly if you’re drinking alcohol.
- Arrange transport to and from- we booked a taxi (because we had a drink with dinner) but it is a 15-20 min drive out of town so if you haven’t got your own car, organise a lift.
Exploring Queenstown
As we’ve mentioned, everyone has spoken about Queenstown to us. So, we wanted to see the place in all of its glory! By just walking around, we found loads of shops, plenty of fun bars, a botanical garden, and a small market that sold so many fun things!
We had our first Bluff oysters (at a place called lemon and salt in the ground floor of T Galleria) which were delicious! One natural, one with champagne mignonette, and one with a squeeze of lemon.
We walked along the beach which was fun as you could see the jet boat throwing people around- something that does not appeal to me at all as I get horrendously seasick. But I’m sure they were having fun.
We also had an unexpectedly lovely walk around the botanical gardens. It was unexpected because we didn’t really know it was there in all honesty. This took us on a route out along the lake and to where you could see into the distance and beyond. Definitely check this out if you go. We walked all the way to the end where you could see more of the remarkables across the vast lake. The botanical gardens also appear to be a big ultimate frisby course.
On our final morning we stumbled (literally as Jess was a rather hungover) across a cute little market! We got chatting to a lady who does the most amazing portraits of peoples pets (@iconicpetportrait), stood and listened to some really cool Folktronica music which was folk music crossed with dnb and dub (@musicbychoice) as well as finding stalls selling green stones, beach art, foodie bits and candles.
Eating Out
Staying true to who we are, we ate at some epic places. We plan on going back and seeing what else Queenstown has to offer in the restaurant department. We have included one place for dinner / evening meal, and two places for breakfast/ brunch!
On the first night, we ate at a mexican place called Margo’s. It was one of the best meals we’ve had out in a while. Having an experience like we did here makes us fall even more in love with eating out
For those who don’t know, Jess has quite a few allergies, which is something we want to talk about on our blog as food allergies do not have to hold you back from travel! But with Margos being a mexican place, a lot of Jess’ allergens were coming out of the kitchen left, right and centre. The staff were awesome and made her feel super comfortable and with so many options on the menu for all dietaries we cannot fault them.
Click here to see the trip advisor review we left them. It really does encapsulate our experience.
To eat we had two sharing platters, one vegan and one with chorizo and pork (there were four of us before you judge, although I definitely could have eaten one myself I reckon). They had a whole vegan section on the menu, which is what swayed us to go there in the first place. If you are looking for delicious vegan eats, then we recommend coming here. Likewise, if you just fancy some delicious food, then come here!
And to drink you may be asking?
Only some of the best tequila based cocktails we’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.
This was our breakfast before the wine tour so it was important to get this right. Spoiler alert: we did.
A short walk from where we were staying (but let’s face it everything’s a short walk in Queenstown) we headed into a full café with a great choice and a cabinet of amazing treats.
Armed with a belly full of bacon benedict (Ben), fun pancakes (Jess) and coffee, we were ready to go tasting.
This was a recommendation from our friend who knew of Jess’ allergies, so we trusted her recommendation and went and we’re not disappointed.
The place itself was amazing and the interior decoration was on point. The Bill Murray portrait was Jess’ personal favourite.
Fabulous choices for any dietary requirements and like the other places on our list took the allergens very seriously.
The coffee was great but an addition we loved was the freshly pressed juices.
Queenstown Nightlife
On our last night in Queenstown we went into town for a few drinks with a friend from when we were working at Furneaux Lodge.
A mere taste of what Queenstown has to offer I’m sure.
We initially tried to go to an Ice Bar, but as we’d had a long (and clearly tough) day of drinking wines, we ate dinner a bit later. Sadly, we were too late to go to the Ice Bar this time.
But we went to a bar called The Ballarat, where there was a live band, loads of people, and cheap drinks! We caught up with our friend, danced, had a picture wth a random group of men we made friends with and then found our way home a few hours later.
Our first experience of Queenstown was quite brief, but we extracted as much food and wine as possible in our short few days here. We definitely want to come back, but with a few thousand dollars so we can do some more of the adrenaline fuelled activities that this place has to offer.
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