The only small downside to living in New Zealand, is that we are thousands of miles away from anywhere. While there are countless opportunities to get out and explore Aotearoa, it’s difficult and often very expensive to travel overseas. So, for the past three or four years, my ‘holidays’ have consisted of traveling back to Iowa for Christmas or weddings.
Just about three years ago, I was driving from Franz Josef on New Zealand’s West Coast to Queenstown in a rusty, old, 1986 Toyota campervan. As I arrived in Queenstown, I viewed the emerald blue waters of Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains for the first time. It’s a stunning sight, and one that drops the jaws of thousands of visitors to the Adventure Capital of the World each year.
When I first decided to come backpacking in New Zealand, I never expected to find a temporary home in the Land of the Long White Cloud. New Zealand seemingly has this effect on many – especially my current home of Queenstown. This bustling little resort town tucked into the Southern Alps seems to be home to more Irish, British, Canadians and Aussies than it does Kiwis.
Many visitors to Queenstown would quickly seem to understand why so many backpackers and those on working holidays in New Zealand seem to never leave. Queenstown is hands down one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand – which is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places in the world.
The stunning views and jaw dropping vistas that surround Queenstown are surely part of the draw, but it’s only those that really settle down in QT that get it. Yes, the views that surround Queenstown – the sunsets across Lake Wakatipu, the snow capped Remarkables Mountain Range, the tempting summits of Cecil and Walter Peak – those views are absolutely part of the appeal.
Yet for me – and I believe many others – it’s both what lies beyond those views and what those views open up that are the real draw to living here in this far away corner of the world.
It’s the evening runs, the weekend missions into the backcountry, the hikes, the climbs, the casual community races, the epic mountain bike adventures and the overall outdoor focused, adventure influenced and healthy lifestyle that become an influential part of life in Queenstown. It’s that lifestyle that draws so many in and holds them here for much longer than they anticipated.
To get a taste of this lifestyle, you need not look any further than a climb up Ben Lomond just outside Queenstown. This 1,748 metre summit is literally accessed directly from town.
This view comes just after passing the Skyline complex at the top of the gondola. If you’re keen to save about an hours worth of hiking through the forest, you can take the Skyline Gondola up through the Ben Lomond Forest for about $15.
After about an hour views of Lake Wakatipu and Cecil and Walter Peak will open up behind you.
Looking south towards the Remarkables.
The hike to Ben Lomond’s summit should not be tackled during the winter unless you’re prepared for ice, snow and alpine climbing.
These photos are somewhat deceiving as the ridgeline was essentially snowless all the way to the summit.
After about two hours of hiking you’ll reach the Ben Lomond Saddle with views opening up into Skippers and Shotover Canyons. From here you can carry on to the summit in about an hour or drop down through alpine tussock into farmland and onto the Moonlight Track which will lead you to Arthurs Point. It’s a solid three hours to Arthurs Point and from here you’ll have to hitch back to Queenstown unless you’ve arranged transport.
The photo above shows the ridgeline you follow to the summit.
Looking north towards Mount Earnslaw…
View of Moke Lake and the mountains beyond…
Expect a return trip from Queenstown to take no less than five hours.
Have you climbed Ben Lomond? Can you suggest any other hikes around Queenstown? Let us know in the comments section below.
Most months throughout the year, the highlight of a trip to Queenstown is centered around hiking Great Walks like the Routeburn track, jumping off bridges, out of planes or barreling down rivers in New Zealand-invented jet boats.
See, the thing with Queenstown – as compared with most Northern Hemisphere ski towns – is that it very, very rarely snows in town.
The village sits on the shores of Lake Wakatipu at just about 340 meters above sea level. All but two or three times throughout the winter, this isn’t high enough for precipitation to fall as snow.
The New Zealand skiing and snowboarding experience is characterized by trips from town ‘up the hill’ to the ski fields. Forget ski-in ski-out like you’d find in a Colorado mountain town. At the very best, a trip to one of the ski fields near Queenstown will take you 30 minutes – this is assuming:
While the 30 minute trip to the mountain is tough to get used at first, the trip up from Queenstown to one of the ski fields is a pretty epic experience. Twisting mountain roads, steep drop-offs and stunning views back over Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown are on offer all the way up to The Remarkables or Coronet Peak. And surprisingly … the snowboarding is pretty bloody good.
Later on in the winter, I’ll put together a post with some practical tips for your experience snowboarding on New Zealand’s South Island – for the time being, enjoy these photos from The Remarkables and Coronoet Peak just outside of beautiful Queenstown.
This photo was taken early one morning as the sun was just rising at Coronet Peak. The clouds cleared to reveal a Wakatipu Basin completely covered in snow – a once or twice a year event in Queenstown.
After a solid week of snow, a high pressure system rolled across the South Island and we’ve been granted bluebird clear days.
When the clouds do roll in, you’re very very often above them – a surreal experience. Driving up The Remarks recently, it looked as if it was going to be a cloudy day – until we broke through the clouds and were greeted with clear blue skies.
This might possibly be the most spectacular view I’ve seen anywhere in New Zealand … or for that matter the world.
After riding the Shadow Basin chair at The Remarkables ski field, a thirty minute hike up to the ridgeline of The Remarkables moutain range leaves you with this this view.
Have you been skiing or snowboarding in Queenstown? Leave your experiences in the comments section below.
When I first began backpacking almost three years ago, I very often explained my love of traveling and seeing the world by the following phrase:
“I love experiencing the unknown.”
I often find it’s the unknown – or certainly the unplanned – events in my travels that stand out the most. It’s these experiences and challenges that bring meaning to going forward with little plan as to where I’ll end up. While many perhaps can’t relate to being comfortable without a five, three, or even one year plan, I live for the excitements that come from a flexible life filled with travel and experiencing the unknown.
As I look back on my previous year of travel, these are the unexpected highlights that stand out most; unexpected yet rewarding and exciting moments that come from living a life filled with travel.
While spending about two weeks in Bangkok during my time backpacking in Thailand, I based myself out of a excellent guesthouse in an extremely un-touristy area of the city. Each afternoon I would wander down a nearby soi to find lunch from a street vendor.
One afternoon I came across a table filled with local Thais, dotted with a couple bottles of Johnny Walker Red, and overflowing with mouthwatering Thai food. As I stepped back to try and capture the moment with a photograph, I was motioned over to the table.
I spent the majority of 2010 working and backpacking in New Zealand. It’s truly a fascinating country; a microcosm of world where you can experience beaches, glaciers, mountains, and deserts all within an afternoon’s drive.
A highlight of my experience in New Zealand was buying a 1984 Toyota Hiace van (who was named Max) with my then girlfriend. This work-van – turned – campervan, with 422,000 kilometers (almost half a million miles), became home for three weeks while we explored New Zealand’s top backpacking destinations.
One crisp, Fall afternoon on New Zealand’s South Island, Max, Nicole, my parents and I were climbing a hill just outside of beautiful Queenstown when Max began to smoke. It proved to be Max’s last ride, yet I’ll remember much of New Zealand as viewed from behind the steering wheel of this epic van.
Adventurous Kate and I spent about two weeks on beautiful Koh Lanta island in the Andaman Sea just off the coast of Thailand’s southern Krabi Province. Koh Lanta is a relaxed island paradise with white-sand beaches, clear blue water, and hospitable locals.
One warm evening we found ourselves listening to a local band and sharing a bucket of Sang Som, Red Bull, and Coke with a Singaporean bar owner; as we watched him chain smoke cigarettes, we listened intently as he explained a side of Koh Lanta the average visitor certainly doesn’t see or experience.
Koh Lanta, according to the bar owner, is very much an island controlled by a local mafia family; a place where you ensure you don’t step on the wrong person’s toes. The result? Well, we were told stories of murder where the island police simply looked the other way …
Minutes later a shirtless, slightly muscular, albeit friendly looking man walked into the bar. “That’s him,” our Singaporean friend said, “he is the mafia boss.”
One afternoon at the pub in Queenstown, myself and the rest of the crew from NZbyBike.com were enjoying Friday pints when my boss told us he was going to have to pull out of the Otago Rail Trail Classic.
This annual mountain bike ride takes in the very best of New Zealand’s Otago Region along the Otago Rail Trail. While I hadn’t been on a bike since wine tasting in Marlborough almost six months back, I volunteered to take his place.
What followed that weekend was nine of the most grueling hours of my life. This already monumental challenge was exacerbated by a killer headwind in the final 30 miles. Nonetheless, I finished and can’t begin to describe the feeling of accomplishment.
During my time exploring Bali I was invited by a local to attend a traditional Balinese cockfight. While I had no interest in witnessing roosters fighting to a bloody death, I couldn’t bring myself to turn down an invitation to an event that plays a very important role in Balinese culture.
After the cockfight, the young man who invited me along insisted that I return to his home to meet his wife and young child. Their home was no more than a single roomed shack in the jungle outside of Lovina. As we sat on the floor drinking tea, his wife tended to their infant daughter while my host gave me a gift of a seashell necklace.
Shortly thereafter they served me lunch in their outdoor kitchen; a spicy beef stew that had been prepared over an open fire earlier that morning.
It’s moments like these that I travel for. Unexpected moments where you realize most people are kind, the world is small and not nearly terrifying as most make it out to be.
A world I look forward to exploring more in 2011.
Can you relate? I’d love to hear of unexpected yet memorable events from your travels in the comments section below.
Backpacking Matt 
