The “Drive” to Queenstown

Driving to Queenstown

We didn’t have much of a schedule today. The plan was to drive straight to Queenstown to maximize the time we had to explore it. And so after packing up, we were back on the road and made some small stops to get coffee at the Pink Glider Cafe. 

At one point we also made it a point to stop at a viewpoint to get a few photos at Lindis Pass.

Misha’s Vineyard

Although we didn’t have any plans to stop along the way, after some driving Gimpy needed to find rest stop. We eventually pulled into a fruit stand / vineyard / bar / orchard. After perusing the fruit stand for a little bit, we realized that the vineyard also did tastings! Since we weren’t under any schedule, we thought why not give it a try! So we found ourselves at Misha’s Vineyard where Gimpy and I shared a tasting! While I’m not a big wine connoisseur, I do know what I like and I found a number of the offerings quite delicious!

The Stoaker Room

Since we were “already” here and Gimpy’s bathroom break has turned into a wine tasting and a bit of fruit shopping. We figured why not stop for lunch as well. Thankfully behind both the winery and the fruit market is a small outdoor eatery called The Stoaker Room. They call it this because they make use of stoakers (old wine barrels) to cook. Stoakers are kind of of a cross between barbequeing, smoking and steaming in these barrels. On offer are a selection of meats as well as grilled veggies. The Stoaker Room also offers a great selection of regional beers so we obviously had to partake! Everything was AMAZING. I believe the experience of finding this place by accident, enjoying this unplanned stop and being the first significant meal of the day added to it. This lunch really hit the spot!

The Roaring Meg

Unfortunately, as much as we probably would have wanted to spend the afternoon there, we needed to continue our drive. Part of the drive takes us along the Kawarau river and one lookout that we stopped at was the Roaring Meg. This is a small hydro electric dam that feeds into the river. To be honest when we saw the sign for the “roaring” Meg I envisioned something a bit bigger. Nonetheless its a stop and getting see more of New Zealand’s natural beauty is always welcome.

Gibbston Valley Cheesery

As we continued our drive, we started seeing more and more signs for different wineries and knew we were due for another “pit stop”. Though something else did catch our eye and caused us to pull in: Gibbston Valley Cheesery. What better accompaniment to our earlier wine tasting than some cheese! The cheese plate allows for some custom selections of cheeses so Gimpy and I made our selections. While I’m not the hugest cheese fan, its still neat to try the different varieties and also enjoy the combinations of it with the accompanying fruit and smoked salmon.

Gibbston Valley Vineyard

“Coincidentally”, across from the cheesery is a winery. There’s no harm in checking it out right? So we did. Before we knew it Gimpy and I were sitting at one of their tables with a flight of wines in front of us. To be honest, I think I enjoyed the wines at Misha’s a little more. While the ones here at Gibbston aren’t bad, they didn’t seem to jump out at me as much as the ones at Misha’s. Regardless you can’t really go wrong with more tastings!

After our “pit stop” we got back on the road and soon made our way into Queenstown. Originally Gimpy and I didn’t plan to be in Queenstown for more than a day. The plan was to drive straight here from Twizel, explore in the afternoon and the morning of the next day before driving onward to Te Annu. However due to our “longer” drive we arrived in the afternoon, early evening. 

Queenstown

After checking into our hotel and settling in, we set out to explore Queenstown. Queenstown, is considered the adventure capital of New Zealand and as such, there is a large tourism industry in the town. I’d argue that a majority of people in the main areas of Queenstown are tourists, and the number of store fronts offering “last minute” excursions are abundant. I think this is the part of it that I didn’t really enjoy. Because a lot of the “adventure” activities didn’t really feel that unique to New Zealand, Gimpy and I didn’t plan on doing any. So, with it being everywhere, it just seemed overly “touristy” to me. 

Nonetheless, there are some very pretty views from the waterfront and Gimpy and I spent most of our time walking along it to take in the views, with the hope of catching a sunset as well. Unfortunately with the way the mountains are situated the sunset turned out a little anti climactic. But the reflection against the opposite mountain did offer a spectacular view!

Fergbaker

One thing that did come highly recommended from a lot of sources is Fergburger. This is a burger shop that garners a lot of attention and Gimpy and I wanted to try it. On our first pass of the store, the line up outside is quite long, so instead we visit the neighboring store: Fergbaker. While in Australia, it was recommended that I try a meat pie from Fergbaker as they are very good. So Gimpy and I each ordered a pie and decided to walk around a little in hopes that the Fergburger line would die down. I ordered a Steak pie and really enjoyed it!

Fergburger

About an hour later, Gimpy and I returned to Fergburger. Unfortunately the line was longer so we just lined up. It moves quite quickly and after about 15 minutes we ordering and another 10  after had dinner in hand. Because there is little seating at the restaurant itself, we instead got it to go and headed back to our Hotel. Both Gimpy and I ordered the classic “Fergburger” along with some salt and pepper squid. Our hotel isn’t very far from the restaurant so the food remained pretty fresh by the time we started eating. I’d like to say that the burger is worth the hype, but I can’t. Don’t get me wrong, its a good burger and the experience of trying is probably worth the wait. But I do think that the hype does set you up for a little disappointment. Nonetheless it’s still a good dinner!

Looking back on today, so much of it was unplanned, but so much fun. This just goes to show that sometimes its the happy accidents along the way that makes travelling so memorable. Gimpy and I really enjoyed the different “pit stops” today. With the slower pace of the day it made for a more relaxing transit from Twizel to Queenstown. Tomorrow we will spend the morning exploring this area more. We will then head to Te Anau for our Milford Sound tour.