Travel blog: Wanaka to Queenstown - adventure capital of New Zealand

Anna Kainberger is taking a year-out from her career to travel in south-east Asia, Australasia and the South Pacific, along with Hawaii and the USA. This month she is reporting from New Zealand. Here is her seventeenth blog entry:

I took a breather in Wanaka and kind-of felt like I should have stayed longer, as the region is unbelievably peaceful and beautiful. Plus the hostel I stayed at was owned by Austrians and I got the first good night's sleep I'd had in a while.

But I had already confirmed my hostel in Queenstown and the hassle of changing that booking... well… so I left after one night on a beautiful sunny day, waving good bye to the Austrians.

In Wanaka you can explore a rather large Maze as well as go to a quite unique cinema (the Paradiso) that has sofas and lounge-around areas, as well as a yellow Morris Minor car, rather than normal seats.

For me it was time to catch up on valuable sleep and soak in the visuals.

I again debated doing a sky dive and Wanaka is again a prime example of a stunning and beautiful surrounding for that kind of experience.

After a mere one-and-a-half hours on the road I reached the famous Queenstown - the adventure capital of New Zealand - with the famous first-ever bungee jumping bridge and a wonderful clear setting against the Remarkables mountain range and the beautiful Lake Wakatipu.

I decided that it was time for a proper stop so I booked myself in for five nights. After a lot of debating with myself, I decided against a skydive and bungee jumping was also not on my list of things to do.

But if you are looking to do something like this then Queenstown is a THE place for you.

The highest bungee jump on offer is a 135m fall and the skydiving is also amazing - simply because of the wonderful setting and landscape.

It is something out of of a picture-perfect story book. I personally was going to take it easy and decide later what I actually wanted to do.

On my first day I was going go up on the cable car and hike down Bob's Peak (the little mountain right in the centre of town), maybe ride the luge and get a good view above Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables (which are also a great New Zealand ski holiday area during winter).

However, as I tried to purchase my ticket, I was told that while they do sell singles down Bob's Peak, they do not sell singles UP Bob's Peak. Only return tickets.

Being pinchy with my pennies, I decided ok, I will hike up and then cable car it down.

Little did I know that Bob's peak is anything but a nice little walk. It's more of a mountain goat climb to the top. It does not take very long - one hour tops - but it is a steep hill and a steep climb. Really only steep. Nothing flat.

But once I reached the top and caught my breath again I was soon rewarded as the views above the lake and the surrounding mountains were magical.

Crystal blue water, deep colours, great light, a clear day. Who could want more?

Well, I wanted to paraglide. And you can paraglide down Bob's peak above the lake and land in the sports yard of the local school.

I bought an early bird ticket, which was a little bit cheaper than the standard ticket, for 09:00 the next day and then hoped that the weather would hold out. And it did.

Paragliding is like flying in a seat and it is something to be done in a setting like Queenstown on a clear and warm day.

I did a tandem paraglide with an instructor called Cole, who took pictures of us and the view and who truly was happy for me enjoying that first flight of the day.

There was no-one in front of us; Queenstown looked tiny; the sun was shining; I wanted to never come down and touch the ground again.

On Bob's Peak you can also ride the luges, which are little car like vehicles that have a break and a steering wheel and run down the mountain on a fast track.

You can race each other and just have some fun for relatively little money in comparison to many other organised activities in Queenstown.

Queenstown is also a hot spot for good old backpacker's nightlife. Our hostel had a deal going with a bar called Buffalo where every drink was two-for-one if you showed your room key.

Now that is good news for backpackers' wallets. You should definitely go and taste the famous Fergburger - good for the alcohol-infused munchies and the best burger I have had in a long time.

In terms of free activities, there is frisbee golf in the town park or a round of Bol?

There is a lot of walking, hiking and cycling available, or if your budget is less constrained you can take a ride on a jet boat on the Shotover River or a cruise on the old paddle-steamer - the TSS Earnslaw. Fishing trips are also on offer with all the gear provided.

Most activities here cost money and quite a bit of it, but that's the price you pay when you are adrenaline junkie and want to do that famous 135m bungee jump.

I was told that during the winter the skiing is quite nice in this region but that it is even better in Wanaka. As it was only March there was no snow as yet.

We had sunshine and great weather for the five days I stayed, soaking in the beautiful surroundings.

My hostel in Queenstown was one of the best places I have come across so far. There was free soup (really good soup) every evening, private bathrooms, a huge and airy kitchen, a free BBQ every Wednesday, a sauna, a spa and very, very friendly and informed staff.

The place was called Southern Laughter and, living up to its name, the walls are covered with very dry-humoured jokes and comics. I simply loved it there.

From Queenstown the Magic Bus offers extensions into Milford Sound and it is a good spot to book tramping trips into Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound, or to get an extension to Te Anau or Stewart Island.

However I had opted for an extension in the North Island rather than the South Island of New Zealand this time and, as every good thing has to come to an end, I left Queenstown to reach my next stop: Dunedin, a city with Scottish heritage town further south.

Anna Kainberger