The place we stayed in - Scenic Hotel Queenstown

These are pictures of our hotel in Queenstown, South Island. The hotel is like a resort and some rooms are chalet style. We were given a chalet room with 2 stories. Love this hotel too, its a semi apartment with kitchen. There were 2 rooms, again another bonus. But the best of all, was the view. Its the best view of all the hotels we ever stayed in. We can see the snow capped mountain meeting the sea, and the pretty small town of Queenstown. It really was a view to remember. Not forgetting the long white clouds where New Zealand has the nick name for. Amazing and simply stunning.

Below first two pictures are views from our room. Very beautiful, especially in the morning.

The place we stayed in - Stadium Waldorf Auckland

We stayed in this service apartment for 15 days. Its a brand new hotel and I dont think anyone ever live in our room. Everything is so new, (the apartment was opened in February I think). Love the setup and the furniture, the colour concept is black and white. The room was spacious and very trendy. The apartment was all you need to feel at home, it had everything, fully equipped kitchen, flat screen tv, dish washer, washing machine and dryer. It even had a balcony! The security was also a plus at this hotel. It used a card system not only for the room but the moment you used the lift, you need to insert your room card. So you dont expect to see uninvited guests, only those you know would be allowed to come. There was also intercom system outside the hotel where your guests could let you know they are coming over from outside the hotel. Very convenient. What more could you want? We were so very comfortable here. Another bonus point was the apartment is very near to Foodtown, a big grocery store, just round the corner. So it was very handy to get your food supply.

Here is another catch. Hubby booked for a one room apartment but the receptionist was kind enough to give us 2 bedrooms apartment! What a generous gesture. My girl was so happy that she got her own room with an internet connection! Oh, the internet connection was cheap too. We were charged NZD50 for a week, 24/7. Not bad.

The place we stayed in - Quest on Nelson Auckland

Sailing on Ted Ashby, Auckland New Zealand

We went sailing at Auckland harbour then went on to visit Maritime Museum. This was also a first for us. We joined the sail on a boat called Ted Ashby.

A little background of Ted Ashby:

Big Rig of the Gulf - has taken 10 years to complete. Ted Ashby was a new scow built for the New Zealand National Maritime Museum in Auckland. The New Zealand trading scow's history and Ted Ashby's story is told by the people involved - the designers, builders, sailmakers, historians and the people whose vision made the project possible. Ted Ashby was the first new scow to be built for many years and there is unlikely to be another with the same authenticity.

The Skiing, Coronet Peak New Zealand

This is so brave of us, esp for me who never even seen real snow before. We didnt expect ended up taking a ski lesson! We always see people skiing on tv and it looked so scary, only fit and athletic people could do it. But hey, now we did it too, it was not that bad. Well, I am not saying we got the hang of it like a pro but more to the fun of things, and of course, from a beginner's point of view.

We took the lesson at Coronet Peak, one of 3 ski resorts in Queenstown and the only one which was opened in mid June. The other two didnt open until later. It was so near to the town, at around 13 km. Although it was so near, the journey to the ski resort took about half and hour since the bus had to go slow due to the snow, the slippery road and travel upwards towards the mountain. But the view was so pretty, it was white all over. Its simply a feast for the eyes.

We decided to join a ski lesson for NZD128 per person excluding the jacket and pants. The lesson were for 3 hrs, one hr and a half in the morning and one hr and a half in the afternoon, and we could be at the ski slope all day, and we were there on the snow until around 4pm when it started getting dark. I didnt know it was so much fun, although I was struggling with the lesson and down on my butt so early in the lesson with the other fellow beginners looked on. How embrassing! We were just learning how to move our body down a flat area and I was already fell on my butt. I was tired and exhausted very early in the game too and ended up didnt join hubby for the afternoon lesson. But I am glad we did it for the fun of it, we ought to do it again the next time we are in NZ.

Rotorua, North Island

We went to Rotorua on our last few days in NZ. We always wanted to see the boiling mud pools and how the thermal activities looked like. At last we could see it here. Its so weird, the mud lead out steam and it smelt like rotten eggs, but I guess thats what nature could do. Rotorua was like a ghost town when we were there, I felt like we were in Tutong somehow, hehehe, it was that quiet! Well, apart from the weather anyway which was less than 10 degrees at the time. Hubby had to drive more than 3 hours to get here using a run-down rented car from a rental car establishment down the road from our apartment, but hey it had a GPS so it was doing its job and got us there, safe and sound.

We also got to see (not tried) one famous activity in NZ, apart from bungy jumping, there is Zorbing. Its called a Zorb where you get into a giant ball and people roll the ball down the hill while you are inside with water surrounds you. It was rather disconcerting since you were at the ball mercy and you didnt know where it would take you, rather scary prospect. But people enjoy it from the look of it. Something my girl wanted to try but I am not sure if thats a good idea.

Queenstown, South Island New Zealand

Our next destination was Queenstown at the South Island. Queenstown located amongst the southern Alps of South Island so what it means is, the town is surrounded by snow-capped mountain and a big Waitipu lake. Another beautiful place and we all gave a thumbs-up all the way. Queenstown is just a small town of 22,000 people. The place got busy when winter comes and when all 3 ski resorts are opened. Young people from around the world also come to Queenstown to work at the ski resorts on temporary basis and they leave when the season is over.

Since we came in early June, only Coronet Peak was opened. The other 2 resorts will open late June and early July respectively. The weather here was very cold. It even reached -2 degrees celcius when we were there and we also got to see snow falling from the sky. One thing I love about NZ was how friendly the people were towards tourists. Not only amongst the shop owners or keepers or cab drivers, but also from people around you. You just feel so at home.

I have to say Queenstown was a charming little town. You would feel so calm and peaceful here. I love all the small shops, the street and the people. And the view of the place was out of this world, I have nothing else to say. It was just simply amazing.