I’ve always been envious of those who have yet to experience their first time, whether it’s the first episode of Schitts Creek or Breaking Bad, or their first of many Parisian hot chocolates. All that first time dopamine glory ahead of them instils nostalgia in my bones.
I feel the same way about Queenstown in New Zealand. That first flight through the Southern Alps capped with snow then touching down at the airport beneath the Remarkables peaks with the azure waters of Lake Whakatipu on the side.
Perhaps I kissed the ground when I alighted back in the day, I know I wanted to, either way I certainly had to pick my jaw up off the floor.
How did I not know such alpine beauty existed across the ditch? The kind we mere Aussie mortals thought only existed in the likes of Europe and Scandinavia. More fool me.
Thus began what is now a two-decade-long love story.
The honeymoon period was all love bombing on arrival and angst and tears when departing with multiple trips a year. I learnt to truly ski for the first time in Queenstown, hitting up The Remarkables and Coronet Peak on the daily until I was skilled enough to step into a helicopter for untracked powder.
The town itself has always beguiled me with its cobbled laneways and hole-in-the-wall bars and lakefront dining. At one time there was even a cocktail named after me, “Rachael’s Undoing” (the menu described it as “named after our favourite Aussie journo because after two of these she comes undone”). Not sure if my mother would be proud, god rest her soul.
Ski towns tend to have a personality that draw snow travellers in. Queenstown has a rhythm, especially during ski season, that’s palpable with high vibes and good times, a beat that mimics the heart. The kind of personality that lights up a room when they enter, ski goggles in hand, fresh from the ski resorts up the road and flowing into après.
Foodies will love the mix of old and new with the original burger bar Fergburger still slinging Kiwi meats on the grill on one side of town and The Cow serving up the OG pizzas down a back cobbled lane. With over 150 hospitality dens, and the Michelin dining guide about to hit town, there’s more than enough to go around. Chow down on the finer side of dining at The Bunker or pull up a shearling lined stool at Rodd & Gunn’s The Lodge overlooking the lake before hitting up World Bar for live music and Little Blackwood for cocktails with a view.
The floating Watershed Saunas now adorn the lake for hot and cold therapy as après no longer requires a bar. Bathe by Aluume has brought architectural style to magnesium hot pools downtown, O-Studio serves up float tanks, The Bathhouse Spa brings euro water therapy and the Onsen Hot Pools has a new tri-bathing experience. All perfect for post-ski recovery.
And when you need a moment to drink it all in, then know that Queenstown is now home to not one but two Dark Sky Reserves for some serious star gazing – Kawarau Gibbston Dark Sky Park and Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary.
Nearby Arrowtown has also picked up the baton for independent shopping on a quaint main street dotted with some of the best dining secrets in the region from the rollicking La Rumbla to local life at the famed Blue Door basement-style sandstone lined bar and the gourmand menu at The Fork & Tap pub.
Down the way sits Ayrburn, a multi-venue hub for locals and visitors alike, looking for a curated dining precinct for adults who prefer their pastries freshly baked and their interiors award-winning.
I don’t dance till dawn in Queenstown as much anymore, my knees no longer thank me when I do. But if I wanted to, I could, on a stage on the mountain after dark or in a basement bar in the CBD. These days, though, I’m lured by the largest ski resort in New Zealand, Cardrona Alpine Resort, the night skiing at Coronet Peak and talk of terrain expansion at The Remarkables Ski Area.
Then there’s Wānaka, the picturesque ski town sitting just over the hill. My affair with Wānaka came a few years into my Queenstown relationship. I had heard the murmurings of a mindful life on the other side of the Crown Range, the kind of place filled with epic mountain culture mixed with moments to exhale but I kept getting as far as Cardrona Alpine Resort and spending my post ski day by the fire in the beer garden of the Cardrona Hotel. With all it’s country-style allure, who could blame me?
Wānaka is also home to Treble Cone, an avid skiers ‘mountain, all steeps and chutes in the Saddle basin and groomers on the front. Folks in these parts used gaffer tape back then to fix any rips on their jackets, they drove Subarus covered in mud and went for five kilometre runs to wind down after a day on the hill. They still do, most of them, though they have the next generation of mountain lovers in tow.
If Queenstown is the heartbeat of Otago, then Wānaka is the lungs, though locals would say it’s the soul. But all three are integral to life, and there’s plenty of that in the Southern Alps.
Wānaka living moves with nature, lakeside homes mimic the schist rock and valley timbers of these parts. Fine food is slow cooked with care from farm-to-table, cafes are lined with stylish merino-shearling seating and high country folk still park in the main street at the end of the day. There’s a refinement to après in Wānaka, craft brews and local wines in independent settings and hijinx and hilarity at the lakeside bars. You’re just as likely to share a brew with a heli-ski guide who’s conquered Everest as you are a start-up founder who swapped Auckland’s big smoke for mountain life.
Hike Mount Iron track at dawn and greet locals on their daily sabbatical, many who moved here to set up entrepreneurial shop with micro-breweries, wineries, organic fare and yoga style studios.
There’s an island called Mou Waho in the middle of Lake Wānaka. It has a lake on the island that has an island on the lake. To me it epitomises what this town and its people are, multi layered with so much more good stuff, the deeper you go. You take your time in Wānaka, because the town cadence forces you to. “Shhh, don’t hurry, you’ll miss the life around you” it whispers every time you try to rush.
These days I split my time between the two towns, dependant on my mood. I’ve officially entered my throuple era, of course they both know, it’s better together after all.
Whichever ski town vibe you choose this winter, Queenstown or Wānaka, you’ll be guaranteed one thing. You’ll be back. It’s a given.
**This is paid for content, sponsored by Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka
