This was a view on my walk early this morning around Lake Wakatipu. The hoards of people we saw yesterday evening were nowhere to be seen, except for a few other walkers and the occasional jogger. This is a magical place.

While Queenstown might be known as ‘the adventure capital of the world’, it looked anything but early this morning. To quote a famous line from an Aussie icon, “How’s the serenity? So much serenity” .

Closer to the central part of town, there was activity around the coffee shops and bakeries. And, there was also evidence of businesses preparing themselves for the day. Many of those business specifically targeting visitors with activities and tours.

With a population of fewer than 30,000 people, this place is absolutely set up to cater for tourists. And it does it very well. After about 11am each day, along the wharf there are dozens of restaurants and bars on offer, as well as food stalls, like Mick’s oyster seller’s, adding colour and wonderful smells to the experience of a stroll along the lake’s edge.

Rees had the first boat on the lake brought up from Invercargill along with the people and materials needed to construct the first buildings in Queenstown Bay. He also came back over the Crown Range with six farm workers and 3,000 sheep to start his sheep run. By the end of 1861, a quiet community of 20 people known as ‘The Camp’ had developed in Queenstown.

But things then got even better for Mr (and Mrs) Reece around one year later. One of Rees’ shepherds discovered gold on his property which attracted an influx of people, mostly miners to ‘The Camp’. Rees made money by selling provisions to the miners, before other store holders arrived, growing ‘The Camp’ into Queenstown by early 1863.

Rees then struck gold himself – not by mining, digging or panning for gold, and not by choice. His property was declared a goldfield by the government and he was paid £10,000 in compensation to vacate his land.

I wonder what that would equate to in NZ$ nowadays??

This is a photo of TSS Earnslaw in front of rows and rows of accommodation for skiers and thrill seekers. It is possible to go for a cruise on this coal-operated steamship which was originally launched in 1912. Unsure if they offer carbon offsets on their ticket pricing!

As we walked down from our accommodation this morning we were delighted to see hang gliders weaving their way down from the mountain top to what appeared to be a narrow space just behind a few buildings in the centre of the township.

The parade of hang gliders continued for the few hours we spent in the town, and possibly even after we left on the bus back to the airport to collect our hire car.

Our granddaughter suggested we should go on the gondola, and while I did walk up to the entrance, we chose not to take the ride. Instead, I have included a photo that Sienna took in July last year when she was here skiing with her Dad and brother. It does look amazing.

Mick and I headed out to sample a few more of the ‘watering holes’ in Queenstown and to find something for dinner. The closest pub to our accommodation was housed in the old Court House. We have been surprised that the sunniest part of the day is around 6pm, and the sun does not set until around 9pm – reminding us a lot of Europe.

Now that we have ‘wheels’ – a well-worn Suzuki Swift – we can commence our exploration of the nearby wine regions. Our final destination tomorrow is the town of Cromwell, a relatively short distance from here, where we will base ourselves for five nights.

We have just realised that tomorrow is a public holiday in New Zealand – it is Waitangi Day; celebrating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on the 6th February in 1840. What impact this will have, if any, on our plans for tomorrow we will have to wait and see.