I’ve been in Queenstown for a while now, but haven’t done a whole lot around here. The adventure activities are a bit above budget and the walks… to be honest I was just lazy. When you stay somewhere for a long time, you tend to think that you have all the time in the world and you keep postponing things until you’re too late.
So today I saw the sun shining and as soon as I’d had my breakfast I headed to the start of the Queenstown Hill Time Walk. It was hard before the walk had even officially started. The Queenstown Hill is steep and the walk takes you to the top of Te Tapu-Nui, the mountain of intense sacredness. The start is from Belfast Terrace, where you can park your car. Or you can walk up all the way, like I did. Just go to Malaghan street and follow the signs.
It was Saturday and there was a mix of locals and tourists on the hill. The indicated time for the walk is 3 hours and this allows for a lot of photo stops. You ascend through a forest with a lot of pine trees. Apparently these are quite harmful for the environment and they’re trying to change this. That night it’d been raining, so the top of the track was a bit muddy.
My expectations were quite low. I’d already seen so much and I didn’t think this walk would add anything new. And yet when I was up there it took my breath away. Gorgeous! I looked out over Queenstown, with a cloud of fog hanging over lake Wakatipu. You could follow the lake all the way to Frankton and see the Remarkables. On the other side you had a view of Coronet Peak. I was wrong. I loved it! If you are in Queenstown, pack some food and hike up. It is worth your while!