26. Exploring Queenstown and Mount Cook

sleeping on my pillow

Throughout the trip I have been spying on my cat Cosmo. I was pleased to see him curled up on my pillow most of the day. This lasted about 5 days and then he shifted further and further down the bed ending the last several days on his bed at the foot of my bed. I also saw him playing with some of his toys and entertaining himself. He jumped into his hanging basket and his window perch, hanging out those places as well. The last half of the trip I had trouble containing myself and I had to talk to him. This immediately got his attention every time and he would stare in wonder at the camera from whence my voice came. I’ll have to talk to him through it when I’m home so he maybe can assure himself that it really is me.

curled up in his hanging bed

staring intently at the camera

hot chocolate and a cheese scone at Odd Saint

Our second morning in Queenstown we walked to The Odd Saint for coffee and breakfast, which was delicious! From there we walked on to Skyline Queenstown and took a gondola up to the top, about 450 meters up. From there we took another ski lift up a bit higher and did luge cars down. They aren’t like the Olympics luge, they are more like go carts only without a motor. You use gravity to go and pull back on the handles to brake or slow down. The handles also let you steer so you can pass others and do a little racing! We had 6 rides and did some serious racing with each other the last 3 times down.

On the gondola in Queenstown

Nancy and Chris getting on the ski lift

Audrey and I on the ski lift

Audrey Nancy and Chris racing their luge carts down the mountain

On the lift ride up we enjoyed seeing the paragliders take off. Riders are connected to the parachute and a guide and once you’re all hooked up, they pull sharply on the chute to get it up in the air and you run off the mountain so there’s never any free fall, you just glide down in spirals. I considered doing it but the 325 NZ$ price tag, about $180 dissuaded me. It looked fun, but not that fun. I actually got more enjoyment out of watching them float down and land. The following day we walked over to the field where they landed and watched several of them.

view from the top of the gondola and life area

posing by the Kiwi Park

After we took our gondola ride down, we checked out the gift store of the area’s kiwi conservation place. We didn’t take the tour since it was very similar to the one in Rotorua, but we wanted to support them so we bought some kiwi items. I saw that inflatable bouncing ball shaped like a kiwi that I had seen at the Polynesian spa so I decided I had to get it! We walked the rest of the way down the hill and got Fernbergers for lunch. A hot tip from a google review guided us to take our burgers to Perky’s floating bar, a boat permanently docked, where you can sit and eat byo food as long as you order drinks from their bar. The others got beers. My Sweet Bambi venison burger was excellent as was my chocolate shake from Mrs. Ferg Gelateria.

kiwi ball

picking up our Fergburgers

Sweet Bambi venison Fergburger

Fergburger onion rings and squid

After lunch we walked along the lake area checking out the shops and locating our hotel for the next day, which is right on the main drag facing the beach and the lake. Audrey went with me to find Sky City Casino so I could buy some chips as souvenirs. The dealer was very confused and handed me the first 2 chips in her tray when I asked for “pretty ones” as souvenirs. Luckily the pit boss overhead and she came over a took out a few to make sure I had nice clean chips.

view from our second Queenstown hotel

view from the street in from of Eichardts

The next morning we watched the paragliders for awhile and walked around the Queenstown Gardens before checking into the Eichardt’s Private Hotel. This is a super fancy hotel that recently worked out an agreement with Hilton that enables Hilton members to book it. I was able to use one of my Hilton free nights there and get a second one with about $650 worth of points. Rooms typically run between $1000-1500/night and I’ve been wanting to go there every since I read a review in Frequent Miler (my points and traveling guru).

Chris and Nancy on their balcony

bedroom at Eichardts

It was well worth it. First they let us valet park for free in the morning before we checked in, then the rooms were incredible. A huge living room with a separate area around the gas fireplace, steps up to the bedroom, a huge bathroom, and a hidden walk in closet area complete with a mini fridge filled with beverages. All the non-alcoholic beverages were complimentary as were the snacks: chips, cookies, and chocolate. The drinks were good: sparkling lemonade and these delicious juices I had gotten from the fruit stand for $6 a couple days earlier. They also let us know we should call if we wanted them replenished. They had a nice lounge hour where they served wine and a couple of appetizers. Then we found out that we each got $50 credit in the restaurant for dinner! It’s unbelievable how much they give you here. The dinner was excellent! We shared some appetizers and took the servers suggestions on entrees. I got something similar to a shepard’s pie which was fabulous. As we dined, we had a great view of the sunset.

bathroom at Eichardts

living room at Eichardts

lounge area at Eichardts

free mini bar and walk in closet

view from our balcony. Note the paraglider in orange to the upper right

practically free dinner at Eichardts

yummy dinner at Eichardts

After dinner, we found they had replenished our drinks and left us wonderful little strawberry cheesecake fudge squares with our turn-down service. I was not surprised to discover that breakfast was also included and not surprisingly it was delicious. This was definitely one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in! Pretty much all of them have been free nights through my Hilton Aspire credit card. I’m hoping the Roku LXR Kyoto will be another one.

sunset view from the lounge at Eichardts

breakfast at Eichardts

Gorgeous view of Kawarau Gorge

My. Cook from afar

We got on the road for our long drive to Mount Cook. As we drove closer and closer we got bigger and better pictures of it. When we arrived at the start of the Hooker Valley Track I ran off to locate a bathroom since I refused to use the outhouse we passed on the way. The trail started off great but then as we continued it just kept going on and on. We crossed 3 suspension bridges along the way and 3.1 miles later we arrived at the lake. The views of Mount Cook from here were wonderful and worth the hike. The return went a bit quicker since it was a gradual downhill vs. a gradual uphill though it was still a long 3.1 miles. Exhausted as we were, we were very happy the drive to our hotel was short since Chris had managed to get the last 2 hotel rooms at the Hermitage Hotel.

on the Hooker Valley Track

finally we see Mount Cook from the trail

finally we reach the end of the track

dinner at Mt. Cook

We had a great dinner at their restaurant before deciding to watch a movie together. We couldn’t get my laptop to connect but after the front desk remotely reset our TV, Audrey was able to screen share from her phone. Soon we were watching Murder Mystery with Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler while eating cookies and chocolate from Eichardts. A nice relaxing end to a long day!