Trips from Waipori. Mountains and lakes

Further westwards after Alexandra, lies the very popular tourist town of Queenstown, which in turn is a good base for the wonderful mountains and lakes of Fjordland.

Queenstown is a small, pretty tourist town on the shore of Lake Wakatipu. Huge mountains are reminiscent of the Scottish highlands. This is a popular area and one is advised to book a room in advance. Tourist Information Centres in the town will help with bookings, in Queenstown as well as in the surrounding towns like Ta’Anau, Manapouri, and other suitable motels or hotels from which to reach Milford Sound. Joanne writes: “We had a bunkroom in a good hotel for $140. The room would have taken four at the same price. Breathtaking view across the lake to the mist-shrouded blue mountains the other side. En-suite. Tea/coffee, Fridge – not bad for around £40. Book ahead unless you want to spend the night in the car.”

Take a cruise on the well-maintained 1912 twin-screw steamer Earnshaw, with its triple-expansion engine, and then take a ride on the gondola to the top of the adjacent mountain, which gives breathtaking views for miles around. Joanne writes: “Queenstown was not at all what I expected – I got the idea from somewhere that it was an old town and expected Victorian types of wild-west buildings. In fact, it is quite modern and teeming with houses on the slopes down to the lake. A small town, it is also overrun by tourist shops and tourists!”

Joanne continues: “After we spent a day and a night in Queenstown, we drove to Manapouri, a peaceful town nestled next to the shores of Lake Manapouri, the deepest of the southern glacial lakes with a depth of 1468 ft. We had pre-booked a motel room at the TIC (Tourist Information Centre) in Queenstown (we were learning!). Around $120. Super room. Magnificent view of the lake brooding under a layer of mist.

“Next day, pre-dawn, we set off early for Milford Sound – in the dark (We used a torch to insert the key into the lock of the car door). We had been told by an old fellow in the queue at the Queenstown TIC that the road to Milford Sound was the most dangerous road in New Zealand and we should not really attempt it! We also heard the hotel staff say how dangerous it was and had even been told that people die on this road every day. (A “very demanding road”, the old fellow had said. When I asked what he meant by “demanding”, he said, “Well, it’s very beautiful but you won’t see the scenery – your eyes will be on the sharp bends with queues of impatient tourist busses behind you, wanting to reach the cruise boats in time – much better to travel on one of the busses…”) Armed with this useful information we set off at 6 a.m. to beat the traffic! Once daylight arrived we found ourselves in the most fantastic mountain scenery we had ever seen, helped along by the wisps of mist that hovered between the ground and curled amongst the massive snow-capped mountains. This is not a dangerous road – the road to our “bach” in Waipori Falls Village is much more “demanding”– and seeing Milford Sound was the highlight of our trip. (Mind you, we travelled the road before the traffic started up, and only saw one other car.) Travelling through the rough-hewn tunnel through and down the mountain into Milford Sound was an eerie and thrilling experience!”

It really is this beautiful - and then some more...