I hurried home from my piano lesson this morning to do the last few bits of packing, then our taxi arrived and took us to the airport. I thought we had plenty of time, but it turned out a little more stressful than I’d wished. Some of Auckland’s infamous roadworks added quite a chunk of time to the journey.But we got there on time, got our automated boarding passes and had time for a quick coffee.
The flight to Queenstown went quite smoothly. It’s almost the longest non-stop flight it’s possible to do in New Zealand, and took just under two hours. Most of it was cloudy, but the last few minutes into Queenstown were over dramatic hills and were quite fun.
I’d chosen a nice little hotel to stay in, but hadn’t been able to book it for this first night. I’d had a brief panic when I found a lot of hotels were booked today, but had eventually managed to book at the Novotel. It’s handily right in town and on the lakefront, with a nice rose garden.
We didn’t have any time to waste before heading for our pre-adventure briefing. I can now reveal the nature of the adventure: we were about to walk the Milford Track.
We had decided to do this in a manner variously described as “the Hilton Hotels option”, “the soft option”, “the last chance before I’m too old” option… etc. What it means is that after walking for six-eight hours a day you get to have a hot shower, a three-course meal, and then sleep in a proper bed. While you still have to carry a pack, you don’t need to carry a sleeping bag, cooking equipment or any food other than that day’s lunch and nibbles.
We did it with these people (the only company licensed to provide such facilities in this precious area).
The briefing made us realise that we didn’t have all the suitable clothes we might need, but Ultimate Hikes sells everything for the journey except boots. So we bought ourselves two lovely, cosy merino tops each. They’re so soft and comfortable that it’s been hard to get us out of them since. One of their nicer characteristics is that they don’t smell of sweaty person after a long day’s walk on the trail – though in such circumstances they do smell faintly of sheep.
Afterwards we went back to our hotel, did a bit of repacking for tomorrow, then went out in search of dinner. Queenstown has vast numbers of lively eateries with a bar as part of them, but we were after something more peaceful. Thank goodness for The Lonely Planet guidebook. I picked a couple that looked inviting, and we went to check them out. I couldn’t find my first pick, and when I checked the address I found that we’d literally walked right past it. We retraced our steps and found it: Solera Vino. What a charming place: small, inviting, white cloths, a cosy fire, good service and delicious food. No wonder it’s so popular; we got there right on opening time, and within half an hour people were being turned away if they didn’t have bookings.
We didn’t sleep all that well, but that was possibly due to the excitement. Tomorrow we were to start the walk!
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