Day 2 – Winding Roads & Pit Stops

17,546 steps 

We had a lovely sleep in this morning, but when we were hungry enough, we got up and headed out to find some breakfast from Fergbaker. We picked up a pie, almond croissant and a coffee and headed back down to the beach front to enjoy the views while we ate, sharing the space (and the crumbs) with a small flock of sparrows. I’m not sure I will ever get over the awe of The Remarkables. 

We have a day of quick pit stops today, and our first destination was Kawarau Suspension Bridge to observe people jump from the first commercial bungy location in the world. It was so fascinating watching the process, and impressive observing the jumper’s adrenalin afterwards as they sprinted up the stairs back up to the jump centre. 

After getting our fill of living vicariously through strangers, we moved onto our next point of interest, which is an unplanned stop that we drove past on our way to the bridge – Hayes Lake. This was an absolutely stunning stop, with more gorgeous views of The Remarkables over a huge expanse of crystal clear waters. 

We have planned this trip around a lot of recommendations from friends, and our next stop was another one. Wilson’s Bay is a local swim spot alongside a mountain bike track. We were only joined by a few people with bikes and dogs enjoying the water and heading off into the bush along the track, which was so peaceful!

While researching places for our itinerary, I kept seeing some incredible images from a place called Bennett’s Bluff, and I knew it was something I wanted to see for myself. The turn off was a quick drive from Wilson’s Bay, and once we turned off and parked, we started our quick walk up to the Bennett’s Bluff viewpoint. As you crest the incline and the trees disappear from view, you are met with the most stunning and picturesque sights of bright blue waters and stark white capped mountains which are highlighted by the brightest sunshine and blue skies. I know I have been going on and on about these mountains, but they are honestly the most incredible natural sight I have had the pleasure to see myself.

We spent some time with these sights and eventually made our way to the next destination. The drive to Glenorchy is just something else! Winding roads with The Remarkables on the left, sheer cliff face on your right with countless waterfalls formed by the glacial runoff from above, moving through patches of lush green forest and bright open blue skies – a dream drive! It wasn’t long until we were driving through the tiny township of Glenorchy and pulling into the carpark next to the Red Shed. The shed was originally built for the New Zealand Railways Department as a goods shed for freight carried on the steamers between Queenstown and Glenorchy. As the steamers were owned by NZ Railways, Glenorchy was officially a railway station and the rails that run from the end of the wharf to the shed were the shortest piece of railway in New Zealand. I can see how it became an iconic photo to take while in the area with the red really popping in the foreground of the lake and mountain view. 

There’s not much going on in the Glenorchy township – a few small stores and cafes, but we found a place called Glen’s Cafe for lunch, where we had some delicious fried chicken and bao buns and enjoyed the returning sun. The Red Shed was the last planned stop for the day, but with the sun out again, we were keen to enjoy the sights. We decided to head back towards Wilson’s Bay, which gave off such a different vibe in the afternoon versus what we saw this morning. We sat on the beach enjoying the sun and skipped rocks for maybe an hour before heading back to the room. 

After a refresh, we headed out shopping for beanies. We’ve seen a few couples around with matching items of clothing, and thought it was cute and wanted to do the same. There are plenty of stores here that Melbourne doesn’t have, so it was fun to stick our heads in. After nabbing a couple of warm snow rated beanies, we headed towards the beachfront in Queenstown again, picking up another recommendation, an ice-cream cone from Patagonia Ice Creamery and chocolatier. 

The sun was starting to make its way behind the mountains by this point, so we opted to leave the view and make the most of the last light by walking a different path around the gardens, enjoying the garden up top, learning some cool history from a monument, before heading down to walk along the lake again. It was a lovely day spent recharging the soul, before spending one last morning in Queenstown and then traveling to our next accommodation tomorrow.