Sarah WallockAfter one of my first days in Queenstown, after work, my friend/co-worker, Maz and I headed up to Moke Lake to take a walk. We drove alongside Lake Wakatipu and crept higher in elevation. It was so stunning. The views of the lake and the mountains behind it in every direction are stunning. Once we turned off to Moke Lake, we went up a windy road. Think: 180 degree switchbacks. Once entering the conservation area there were an abundance of baby lambs, ducklings, and all types of animals. Everything was quiet at Moke Lake and it felt really rural. Although, it is just a short drive from Queenstown.
Walking around Moke Lake on a cloudy day was nice. There weren’t many other people around. Right when we started on the loop trail, we walked through a smattering of scattered roses from an engagement or wedding photo shoot. Queenstown constantly has wedding / elopement / engagement photo shoots happening. I would love to return to Moke Lake with a kayak for a nice float this summer.
A few days later, Nick and I woke up early before work and headed out on the road to Glenorchy. We felt the sun beating down on us through the car windows. The drive was incredible as we snaked along the side of Lake Wakatipu and went up and over mountains. First, we stopped at Bob’s Cove. It’s a small cove in the lake that has been inhabited since 1800. It was so special, I can’t wait to return in summer. After wandering down to Bob’s Cove and experimenting with my new Fujifilm X100T, we were off to Glenorchy.
Once we arrived in the 1-street town of Glenorchy, we walked around, watched busloads of other tourists enjoy the town, and explored each of the 10 shops. Yes it was beautiful and yes I would go back, but Glenorchy isn’t for me as it is way too small. I looked at a job opportunity at a hotel in Glenorchy and I am glad we stuck to Queenstown. Wanaka is the other place we were considering, but I’ll have to head over there to see what it is actually like. I would imagine it is also quite small. Everyone says it is like a miniature version of Queenstown.
What makes me fall more in love with Queenstown is the surrounding area. The problem with many cities is the lack of interesting surrounding towns and day-trip spots. In California, we’re lucky enough to have awesome proximity to tons of great cities and weekend spots all over the state. Santa, Barbara, Ventura, LA, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Big Sur, Yosemite, San Diego – you name it. There’s bound to be at least 3 other areas within an hour’s drive that have unique opportunities. Many other cities may be the only one in a state or country that are worth spending time in.
I know that while living in upstate New York, I wasn’t jumping in the car to explore other parts of the state (with the exception of summer). Additionally, when living in New York City, I felt trapped most of the time. Going up into the Hudson Valley or over to New Jersey, wouldn’t alleviate that feeling entirely (and took multiple subways and trains). Queenstown’s year-round accessible, beautiful and interesting neighboring communities is one of the reasons I am pro-Queenstown.
