Glenorchy is a tiny hamlet around 30 minutes from Queenstown, and well worth a day trip or more. It is most visited for its Lord of the Rings sites.
We started our drive from Queenstown along the road to Glenorchy, and within minutes, were greeted by the dazzling blue color of Lake Wakatipu.
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| The road to Glenorchy is one of the most scenic drives in the country! |
After a 45 min, we arrived at Glenorchy, and went to the small visitor’s center. There are several walking and driving trails around Glenorchy. While the most scenic hike was another hours drive, we opted for a walking trail near town. The trail went around the river, and some lakes and offered views of the nearby mountains.
On the trail, we found a quiet pond that was the perfect place for us to eat our lunch.
You can easily spend a whole day in Glenorchy visiting various LOTR sights and hikes. Unfortunately, we only had a couple of hours to spare before we had to head back to Queenstown for our next activity…Jumping off a bridge!
Queenstown is known as the adventure capital, and for good reason. You can choose from an array of adventures that suits your fitness and craziness-level, such as jet boating, giant swings, and ofcourse, the famous bungee! We had tickets for the Kawarau bridge bungee in Queenstown.
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| Kawarau river |
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| Jumping off the bridge! |
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| Head first into the water! |
We ended the evening walking around Queenstown downtown. The downtown area is very walkable, has many restaurants and bars, and has a dock which overlooks the mountains.
That ended our 3 day stay in Queenstown. We next headed to Wanaka.
