Yay for Friday!! Today I’m sharing all things from our couple of days in Queenstown–on the south island of New Zealand. Queenstown is comparable to Vail in regards to a beautiful mountain town– architecture not quite to par but the natural beauty was impeccable! Our short flight from Wellington to Queenstown looked a little like this:
Morning reads with Grayson Quinn…
Gorgeous views…
Touching down!
Like I mentioned in Part 1 of our vaca– the locals said it was snowy there. #theywerentwrong
We trekked through the snow to our rental car (seriously seemed like a couple of miles out because we were so cold) and then once we were loaded we realized our small carry on suitcase was missing– we had left it standing at the rental car counter. Grant ran in while I did right-side donuts in the parking lot😜 He found it right where we left it, probably because it looked like too much like a bomb! (He said they were getting ready to call security on it😂)
We found a local grocery for some essentials and I booked us a place to lie our heads in the meantime. We stayed here, on the river. Great location–near the airport, shopping and just outside of town. The room allowed for gorgeous views and was perfect if you have a rental car!
After getting settled, Grant chose our evening activity of driving north along a scenic route before dark. Let’s just say this was quite eventful! Grayson might have slept the first 20 minutes (I don’t even remember)– Grant and I were snapping pics.
As we ventured farther Grayson was ready for a break– he wanted to see the views too! So I sat in the back and let him look out the window. We stopped for more pics and then we got the selfie stick out of the window as Grant kept driving. When it was time to put the window up I began to hear Grayson whimper (I hadn’t checked the far corner of the window for his little paws–as they were caught). I quickly pressed the button to put the window down only to find that I was putting it up farther and crushing his little fingers even more! #tearsfordays Thankfully no broken fingers!
Once we got that sorted out we decided to turn back towards Queenstown for dinner. Grayson was still on my lap and looking out the window when he decided to pull the door handle which opened our door as we were going about 50 km. Grant, trying to help, slammed on the brakes, only to toss me basically out of the door! 😅 So yeah, by this time we are dying laughing and everyone was ok–but time for everyone to buckle up back in there seats.
The evening ended downtown with a little shopping, pizza, and gelato!
Thursday morning, we had brunch here. Grayson Quinn enjoyed his morning espresso☕️
Grant went to a local laundromat– remember how I didn’t pack enough clothes well I normally don’t do laundry on vaca, but this time was different! Grayson and I hit up a little more shopping! Never mad about a little Lulu sale. #rarity Morning views were beautiful.
That evening we took the Gondola ride up the mountain for a fun little adventure and great skyline views.
View from the top…
Late night snack at Queenstown’s famous Fergberger. These burgers were massive! Grant enjoyed it. #meatfordayz
Friday, our flight back to Auckland, NZ was at noon–we squeezed in brunch on-the-go at this unique donut and bagel cafe
and a helicopter ride just before we had to be at the airport. We touched down on top of the mountain where we took some pics of the breathtaking views 👌🏼
Next stop– Auckland, NZ.
Grayson made a new friend on the plane
and then was ready for a nap!
We spent the evening here and warmed up by the fire before we flew out Saturday morning to Australia!
New Zealand was a wonderful adventure and I’m thankful to have spent a week with my little family there💙 So much more from our vaca coming soon!!
{Until Next Time, Stay Classy}