Now comes the best part of our trip, three things which we had planned & booked were Bungy jumping, shotoverjet & a couple photoshoot in snow covered “Remarkables”. One thing which were not sure about was the Helicopter ride over Queenstown with snow landing. Unless there was snow, we didn’t want to go.
Why Queenstown?
There are so many beautiful places in New Zealand, but we wanted to fuel our adventure travel a bit more. So we zeroed in Queenstown. It’s the birth place of Bungy jumping. You might have seen in Vijay’s Kushi Movie. It was a major inspiration for us too
Currency: The currency in New Zealand is called the New Zealand Dollar. 1 NZD is equivalent to about 48 Indian rupees.
Best way to travel in New Zealand: Rent a car, it is not only economical than the packaged tours. You can see things at you pace. Most of the “to do” activities are away from the city
Use AIRBNB, it’s cheaper the hotels. You also cut down cost by doing some basic cooking. You can also get frozen foods from supermarkets and get them ready instantly.
Restaurants were expensive. Still plenty of Indian restaurants, take away and café’s in the cities. Lot of vegan/vegetarian options as well
Credit Cards and ATMs: Most restaurant and retailers in the big and small cities will accept credit cards as payment. If you need to draw cash, you can find ATM’s almost everywhere: bank lobbies, on the streets, shopping malls, convenience stores, and petrol stations
How to get to Queenstown
We drove from Christchurch, but the easiest is to fly to Queenstown International airport.
Quickest option tog et to your accommodation in Queenstown is taxis. It is not a big city, so you re not looking at hefty bill. You can also board a public bus taking you to the city, single journey will cost 5NZD and with the prepaid Gocard(can be bought in airport), will cost 2 NZD single journey
Our Budget
We spent little more to get a lake facing two floor apartment. But it is worth. The sceneries are breathtaking.
Airbnb @ 55NZD/person/night
We didn't spend money on any local transportation, only fuel expenses
Food/Restaurants are quite expensive in Queenstown. Its better to get groceries from supermarkets and do some basic cooking. Per day food expense 20 NZD/person A meal in restaurant will cost 20NZD/person/time
Must Do Activities in Queenstown
Bungy Jumping
The AJ Hackett Bridge, also known as the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge, is actually the world’s first commercial bungee jumping site. We preferred Kawarau(43m) to Nevis(132m) because we wanted to a tandem jump and it is possible only in Kawarau!
Need to get the booking done upfront, so that you are guaranteed a spot and a timing.
Click here to read our Bungy Jumping full story
Shotoverjet
The Shotover Jet boat ride is a once in a lifetime experience. Navigating through the canyons on the shotover river at a very high speed & unbelievably close range and water spraying all over, it is an extreme adventure activity in Queenstown 🇳🇿. Ohhh, not to forget the shallow water 360 degree spins. They are mind blowing!!
Click here to read our full story of Shotoverjet
Gondola / Skyline Queenstown
You can easily spend the whole day doing 10 different types of activities up the Bob’s peak. Gondola is the easy way to go up the hill and you’ll be amazed with the views overlooking Queenstown and lake wakatipu. You can see all the peaks and ski resorts around you.
There is a restaurant up there and souvenirs to shop. Other optional activities are Bungy jumping (yes AJ Hackett has got one here as well), Paragliding, Zip lining, Mountain biking, Riding the Luge (The Luge is an exciting gravity-powered ride down the mountain). It was the last day of our trip, so we decided to just chill out on the top
Helicopter tours with Snow landing
Everyone talks about adrenaline rush and we felt it everywhere in Queenstown. This is the ultimate adventure we had, a scenic helicopter flight around Queenstown with snow landing on top of “Remarkables”. Is it thrilling more than a bungy jump?? We would say yes
Click here to read our full story of our Helicopter Tour
Things We missed
Milford Sound Cruise
Skiing @ Coronet/Remarkables
Conclusion & Our Recommendation
Queenstown should be on everyone's bucketlist and it is the ultimate thrill seeking place on earth. We are so lucky to have it close by and we will be returning to Queenstown for sure.!
Our Recommendation: Must Go!