The
Queen’s Town
by
Barclay Nelson
I don’t
think Queenstown, New Zealand is exactly what the Queen had in mind for her
namesake. While Queenstown is
elegant, majestic and grandiose in its physical beauty, the city has a heart
for adventure less like a queen and more like that of English adventurer and
seaman Captain James Cook who discovered New Zealand and its native Maori
people.
  While
the queen resides many miles from this remote Pacific island, Queenstown has
a queen of sorts of its own.
You can even stay at her castle. Louise Kiely has been in the hospitality
business in Queenstown for 29 years, which might earn her the coronation of
Queen of the town. If that’s
not enough, she was crowned Queenstown’s Socialite of the Year as well.
Louise hosted me at her castle, the Queenstown House, a boutique
hotel with 15 unique suites.
Louise took me in with her family and friends to give me a taste of the
“Queenstown Experience”. The
hotel overlooks the city and the bay but provides easy walking access to
downtown Queenstown.
Besides the stunning view, the pre-dinner cocktail gatherings, fireside
sitting rooms and rose filled patios were a potent cocktail that facilitated
an amicable connection with the palace’s most interesting guests.
 The
evening brings out a buffet of nationalities, ages, and persuasions to the
Ballarat Street/Mall Street area in a flurry of activity, nightlife and
superb people watching. The
range of upscale and modest dining options abounds.
Try Fishbone, Pier 19, Captain’s Restaurant, Beefeater and Winnie’s;
you’ll be off to a great start.
You’ll notice that just about everyone’s happy in Queenstown. Enjoy, eat and
rest well or stay up late, but the morning and day will bring an entirely
different side of Queenstown to light.
A new
adventure begins by day in Queenstown.
Queenstown by day might be more aptly named something like Redbull
City. It’s the southern
hemisphere’s extreme sports capital and one of the largest tourist town’s in
the southern hemisphere.
Daytime brings such fare as canyon swinging, heli biking, glowworm
spelunking, glacier exploration, and flightseeing.
Or perhaps jet boating and the more typical entrees of world-class
bungee jumping, luging, heli skiing, snowmobiling, paragliding, hangliding,
photo safari’s, quad biking, fly fishing, white water rafting, kayaking,
skydiving, 4x4 touring, wine tours and Lord of The Rings Tours are more to
your fancy. Recreational offerings
span the seasons and summer and winter each draw about half the annual
visitors. In summer, the
surreal turquoise colored glacial runoff of the Shotover River and Lake
Wakatipu provide the backdrop for all the adrenaline infused activity.
In winter, the dramatic beauty of the mountains and glaciers
highlight the landscape. Easy
access to four skiing areas is a short order from Queenstown.
Queenstown is also the main launching point for Fiordland National Park
where you can find the famous Milford Sound, Milford track and glaciers.
The Fiordlands are the most rugged and unexplored part of New
Zealand, providing yet another
variety of unparalleled scenery in what many consider the most physically
beautiful place on earth.
When
planning your trip, remember the seasons are of course opposite in the
southern hemisphere versus the northern hemisphere, so Queenstown can get
you out of cold weather in winter and out of the heat in summer.
Two weeks never seems like enough time especially if your trip takes
you to other parts of the country.
However long you stay, your trip will be a royal adventure.
Explore
more at
http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz/,
www.queenstownhouse.co.nz
Barclay
Nelson writes about outdoor and urban experiences. Read his stories on
www.cocktailatlas.com,
www.carladynews.com and
www.travellady.com
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