Trip Report - New Zealand ABD March 13 - 24, 2023 Updated 1/17/24!

[Eastridge]

Sorry to hear your tour did not include the Blue Pools. That stop did take a while so maybe they didn't have time to include it.

My trip did not have the stop at the Jones Fruit stall.

Was the lack of AC a problem at the St. Moritz, or was it cool enough?

 

[sayhello]

Sorry to hear your tour did not include the Blue Pools. That stop did take a while so maybe they didn't have time to include it.

My trip did not have the stop at the Jones Fruit stall.

Was the lack of AC a problem at the St. Moritz, or was it cool enough?

It's possible it may have been a timing thing. Hard to know! But I think I'd rather have done the Blue Pools than the Fruit stand!

The lack of AC was not a problem. It was cool enough that it wasn't needed. In fact, I kind of forgot that it was an issue! (I did have a note to ask for a fan if needed).

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Day 10 - A Remarkable Day

Today was our day in Glenorchy. It's a gorgeous area not too far from Queenstown, with the amazing Remarkables Mountain Range and the Dart River. Parts of the Lord of the Rings was filmed in this area.

We had a bit of an early morning, departing at 7:45 am. Since there were so many moving parts to this day (split by morning/afternoon and by which activity you'd signed up for) they gave us printed out copies of our personal itinerary for the day.



We headed out along the lake, with some beautiful views of the Remarkables as we rode along.



When we got to Glenorchy, we saw a quick glimpse of the famous Glenorchy red barn (more on this later), but our destination was the headquarters of Dart River Adventures. Half of the group went off to do the jetboats first, and then our group was split between those doing the horseback riding and those of us doing the jeep ride. I'd managed to zipline twice without messing up my back, and decided the better choice for my back at this point was to do the jeep tour. The jeeps were parked outside of Dart River Adventures, and we split into 2 jeeps that held 6 people plus the driver. @distravel and her husband were in the same jeep as I.



I had spoken to both the Vacationistas and Kira & Nettie about my unfortunate tendency towards car/sea sickness, and had asked to get a seat up front in the jeep to minimize the car sickness. Which I got. But just before we left, Kira came up to the window, looking very reluctant, and told me that another person in the group had just told her that *she* had issues, and needed to sit up front. She asked me if I could switch with the other woman part way through the trip. I really was reluctant to not sit in the front, but what could I do? So I agreed to it.

We headed out of town along a well-paved road, with the gorgeous Remarkables lining the roadway. Once again, we had a spectacular day, with blue skies and just a few puffy white clouds hugging the mountain tops. Our jeep driver, who was in contact with the other jeep driver, would point out points of interest along the way.





We made our first quick stop for the jeep drivers to point out a few vistas that were used in the filming of The Lord of the Rings. I believe we passed the area where Isengard was filmed, and a few others. They had notebooks with photos from the movies that we could match up to what we were seeing.





We really just stepped out of the jeep for a few minutes to look at the photos they had and to take our own photos. We were only less than 20 minutes into the drive at that point, so I agreed with the other woman that we'd switch at the next stop.

It was all just gorgeous! Seriously gorgeous! Photos don't do it justice!

As we drove a bit more, the road became a bit rougher (but still nothing I'd consider "off-road").



But then we did get to a rocky, bumpy area, where we had to cross some small streams.





Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

Then we crossed a bit of a larger stream. This was getting a bit more off-road-y!



We eventually got to an actual river, and the drivers decided that it was actually too high to cross, and that this would be as far as we could go this day. So they parked at an open spot near the river, and we all piled out to soak in the gorgeous area and have an orgy of photo-taking and wandering around.









There were a few waterfalls we could see off in the distance.



Some hikers came up to where we were parked (they'd been dropped by their transport a way back, and were heading out much further than we were going, but apparently had to do quite the walk-around since the river was too high to ford at this point). There were also some folks carrying kayaks and paddles.



Looking back the way we'd come.



The jeep drivers provided us with some hot drinks (coffee & hot chocolate) and baked goods as we hung out in this beautiful spot. It was seriously SO gorgeous. I think we had some extra time at this stop, since we hadn't gone as far as intended.



Eventually, we were all herded back into our jeeps. I swapped seats, and the others in the jeep offered me the corner seat in the back that the other woman had been in. But I just couldn't do that to my stomach, so I went with the middle seat. Well, I found that they were actually being really nice to me, because you could not see ANYTHING from the middle bench. These jeeps did not have removable roofs, and from the middle seat you could only see horizontally out the side windows, and just over the hood looking out front. I took literally zero pictures on the way back. I was SO glad I'd sat in the front the whole way out, because I really saw nothing on the whole way back, and there was no stop where we could have swapped on the return trip. I am 99.9% sure that's why the jeep ride was not an option for the 2023 season, and there's a different company running the jeep option for the 2024 season. I hope the new company has more appropriate jeeps for what is, after all, a sight-seeing tour. I'll be interested to see what folks report back next Fall.

Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

We were dropped back off at the Dart River Adventures office, and had free time until it was time to meet at the restaurant across the street for lunch at noon.



I decided to head down to the lake (Lake Wakatipu) that feeds into the Dart River.



There is a red barn there that is another Instagram famous spot. It really is a pretty red barn, with a spectacular background, so of course I had to take some photos of it and the beautiful surrounding area.









Looking the other way from the wharf behind the barn.





I eventually started heading back into the tiny town. I checked out a small Trading Post, then headed to the restaurant for lunch.





Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

I didn't write the name of the restaurant down, but it was literally across the street from the Dart River Adventures, in the tiny Glenorchy Hotel. It was another buffet. The food was decent, but nothing memorable. The cappuccino must have been pretty good, because that was literally the only photo I took of lunch!





After we all finished lunch, the first group headed out to do the horseback riding and the jeep tour, and my group headed into the office to get kitted up for our jetboat ride. They gave us branded Buffs to wear (tubes of cloth that you wear around your neck and can pull up to cover your mouth and nose. VERY necessary!) We also had long waterproof/windproof jackets with hoods and life vests. Once we were all suited up, and had used the restrooms, we headed out to board our 2 jetboats (each boat held up to 14 people plus the driver). We headed out onto the lake, where our driver explained to us how the jetboats operated, and did some 360-degree turns and such and explained some signals he'd be giving us as we rode (to warn us when he was going to go fast or turn, etc).



My mostly failed attempt to do a panorama of one of our 360 degree turns.



Then we headed out towards where the lake became the Dart River. The jetboats are made (by a Kiwi!) specifically to run on the "braided" rivers of the South Island. So they can run in water that is only a few inches deep! Our driver would take us along the edge of the water, where it was deliberately shallow, take really fast turns, do occasional 360's (but he would warn us with hand signals before he did any of this). It was WINDY and COLD but seriously exhilarating. He'd slow down from time to time to explain some of what we were seeing around us, and would occasionally play tag with the other jetboat. It was just amazing and really gorgeous!





That's Nettie. Can't you tell?





Eventually, we got to an area where he stopped the boat, and we just floated in place while he explained some stuff to us, and then explained that we'd gotten as far as we could go that day, and that we'd be turning around at that point. I don't remember what the reason was, if the water was too high or too rough or what, but he just kept going on and on about how sorry he was. And, unfortunately, as we were gently bobbing up and down in place, that's when the sea-sickness decided to hit. REALLY badly. AND I had the Patch on!! As he finally took off and headed back, I spent the next several minutes trying VERY hard not to throw up. It was a serious struggle, but I managed. We stopped for a bit on a spit of land to look around and get photos taken, and things settled down *mostly* for me.





I was really, really glad when we got back to the landing area! I imagine my stomach *might* have rebelled because I did this activity right after lunch, so I'd recommend anyone with a tendency towards seasickness to ask to be in the before-lunch group! I LOVED the part going out there! It was fun, and beautiful, and a really great experience. Until we floated. I was sad it ended so badly for me! (Although I guess it could have ended worse!) But I'm still glad I did it! What an experience!

Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

After that, we returned to Queenstown, and had the evening On Your Own.





I ended up joining the lovely @distravel and her hubby for dinner at a lovely little eclectic Mexican Restaurant name Margo's. The food was really very good, and the conversation was fun! As we were leaving, Kira and Nettie came in, and we found out that this place is a favorite amongst the Adventure Guides! That's always a good recommendation!

(Not my photo)


We then headed out to wander the shopping area near the wharf. The weather was still gorgeous, and the downtown shopping area was lit up and lively. @distravel and her husband were looking for some very specific pieces of jewelry for gifts, and I ended up finding a lovely Punamu fish hook necklace that I liked even more than the one I'd purchased in Hokitika. This one was more of a necklace than a pendant, with an actual gold chain and bail. It also looked a bit more like a fish hook, and I liked the color a bit better. I still like both necklaces, but I really fell in love with the one from Queenstown!

The one on the left is the one from Queenstown, the one on the right is from Hokitika



We eventually headed back to the St. Moritz. It was a lovely evening, but it was time to wind down for the night!





Tomorrow would be our last full day of the trip. How did that happen!?!!

Next up: Day 11: Wakatipu Wonders

 

[distravel]

Loving your trip report and gorgeous photos!! Brings back memories of a wonderful trip. Hubby and I are off to the Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ABD tomorrow. We really enjoyed traveling with you.

 

[sayhello]

Loving your trip report and gorgeous photos!! Brings back memories of a wonderful trip. Hubby and I are off to the Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ABD tomorrow. We really enjoyed traveling with you.

Thanks! I really enjoyed getting to know you and your husband, also! It was a real joy!

Enjoy the Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia ABD! Everyone I know who has done it has really loved it! Safe travels!!!

Sayhello

 

[Eastridge]

Thanks for the update.

Our trip in Dec 2022 did not have a jeep tour option, even before they had to modify the itinerary due to the holidays. Unfortunate that some passengers would be stuck in a middle seat.

I don't recall people in our group mentioning or visiting the red barn. I wasn't aware of it, but I don't spend time on Instagram.

 

[AquaDame]

Loving your trip report and gorgeous photos!! Brings back memories of a wonderful trip. Hubby and I are off to the Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ABD tomorrow. We really enjoyed traveling with you.

Please tell us how it goes! We are booked for one next January!

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the update.

Our trip in Dec 2022 did not have a jeep tour option, even before they had to modify the itinerary due to the holidays. Unfortunate that some passengers would be stuck in a middle seat.

I don't recall people in our group mentioning or visiting the red barn. I wasn't aware of it, but I don't spend time on Instagram.

Interesting that they didn't have the jeep option. I mean a ton of folks on my departure did that instead of the horseback riding, so maybe they got a lot of complaints about no alternative to the horseback riding. There's only so much of interest you can do in Glenorchy on your own. It's pretty tiny. I looked back at the pdf's I have from this trip, and it does not look like it was an option in the pdf. But I do remember seeing it online. So maybe it was a "quickie" decision, and why the jeeps weren't really good for ABD's purpose?

I'm not a big Instagram person, either. I don't recall, are you a Lord of the Rings fan? I think the barn first became popularized by people going to Glenorchy to see where a lot of LOTR was filmed. I was very heavily into LOTR fandom. If you posted yourself with the Red Barn that said "GLENORCHY" in great big letters, folks immediately knew where you were. And were very jealous.

Sayhello

 

[Eastridge]

I don't recall, are you a Lord of the Rings fan? I think the barn first became popularized by people going to Glenorchy to see where a lot of LOTR was filmed. I was very heavily into LOTR fandom.

I know Lord of the Rings and watched the movies, but I wouldn't call myself a super fan. I haven't memorized all the backgrounds from the movies and couldn't recognize the sights in Glenorchy as they were used in the movies.

Kira did like my vocal impersonation of Gollum when we stopped at the hotel that had the big Gollum statue (earlier in this trip).