Franz Josef - Queenstown

Great start, good weather. First to Fox Glacier, a 21 Km curvy road. From Fox Glacier a more straight road down to Haast wher it started to rain again. I needed to take the Haast Pass which is open due to the warm weather, 7 degrees Celsius. Very nice ride, bad weather though. Over the pass sunshine again and lovely touring to Wanaka. It is like "god" threw in everything he had, like he could not make his mind up, so diverse are the vegitation and the secenery.

Wanaka is a town in the Central Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated at the southern end of Lake Wanaka, adjacent to the outflow of the lake to the Clutha River. It is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. Wanaka is primarily a resort town but has both summer and winter seasons and is based around the many outdoor opportunities. Due to the growing tourism business and the increasing number of retirees in Wanaka, there is massive growth occurring, up to 50%in 10 years.

The town is part of the Queenstown-Lakes District and was originally settled during the gold rush excitement of the 19th century.

From there again a scenic road to Arrowtown.

Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 5 km from State Highway 6. There is also road access directly to Queenstown via the Shotover Gorge and a third route via the picturesque Lake Hayes.

During the high point of the gold rush the population of Arrowtown rose to over 7,000 and became the center of a larger municipality, which covered the new settlements of Macetown, Skippers and Bullendale (today only ghost towns).

My final destination was almost there, Queenstown.

Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin lake shaped like a staggered lightning bolt, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains.

There are various apocryphal accounts of how the town was named, the most popular suggesting that a local gold digger exclaimed that the town was "fit for Queen Victoria". It is now known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. It is popular with young international and New Zealand travellers alike.

Great place to be. I was expecting a typical Ski resort, but it is very different. It is not as mondain as the ones in the Alps or in the US. Pricing for all is rather modest.



Of course went to iSite first to make some reservations, hotel and Shotover Jet boat ride.