January 17-21, 2024

As mentioned in the prior post, today would be a full day, one that would start out on the gloomy side for Bev, Marty, and I and turn out to be one of the highlights of the trip.  The three of us had booked an e-bike excursion from Arrowtown to Queenstown through Around the Basin-Bike Queenstown. 

While we’d be out bike riding, Kim and Joanna had booked a Half Day Walter Peak Horse Trek through Viator.  This would include a round-trip ride aboard the vintage steamship TSS ‘Earnslaw’ across Lake Wakatipu followed by a small-group horse trek, which would include afternoon tea at Walter Peak High Country Farm before returning to Queenstown. 

The night before I was concerned about the forecast of rain the next day and so called the vendor who assured me that if rain was forecast that morning, they would cancel the rental and refund the cost.  We awoke to rain in the morning which was predicted to last until late morning or early afternoon.  In another call I was again assured that they saw no rain predicted but would cancel if it arose.  So, the three of us took the bus into town and after arriving at the rental office, were told no rain was called for later that morning, even though it was coming down at the time. 

We shuttled up to the start in Arrowtown and after claiming our bikes gathered around the guide who advised us on our route and repeated the mantra of no rain in the forecast, even though it was still raining lightly.  We now determined we were going to have to suck it up and ride wet and so, climbed on the bikes and took off down the trail.  I’ve long held to the principle that if it is raining at the start of a ride, I’d abandon.  If it rains after we start the ride, we continue riding.  Since we were on the hook for the rental fee, it was now ride and get wet.  Lucky for us, the rain would diminish and eventually dry up, leaving us with a gorgeous day on the bikes. 

We stopped briefly in Arrowtown so I could pick up a souvenir rock for Doug, and then took off on a crushed gravel path that ran along the Arrow River Trail downstream to the Morven Ferry, crossing the river via a few spectacular bridges.  About a third of the way through the ride, we joined the Twin Rivers Trail which follows the Kawarau and Shotover rivers.  At this time the skies cleared, and the temperature warmed up, enabling us to shed our rain jackets and really begin to enjoy the ride. 

Along the way we enjoyed a clearly marked trail with good signage until about two thirds of the way we had a snafu at the Old Shotover Bridge.  Instead of crossing it, we misunderstood the sign and instead dropped below the bridge and continued on a nicely shaded flat trail for some distance until we reached a junction that led to a very, very steep hill and a sign that indicated it would take us past Lake Hayes and back to Arrowtown.

So, we turned around to the bridge where we realized our error and crossing over soon found ourselves riding on the banks of the Shotover River with magnificent views downstream towards Queenstown.  This brought us into the outskirts of town and as we rode along a large inlet of Lake Whakatipu we spotted Altitude Brewing and since we were close to the end of the ride, decided to re-hydrate there. 

It was just the right decision to make as those cold brews put an exclamation mark on what had started out as a dismal experience, only to become a day we won’t soon forget.  And honestly, how many times in our lives do we hesitate to engage an activity for any number of reasons, only to overcome our initial reluctance and have that day, or that activity, become a cherished memory. 

We rode to the shop to drop off our bikes and then walked to Botswana Butchery for our dinner reservation, with Kim and Joanna following us not long after.  They had enjoyed a fun afternoon while we were putting in the miles, having taken the bus later in the morning from the house to the dock at the center of town and at the appointed hour, boarded the TSS Earnslaw for their voyage across the lake.  The ship is a 1912 Edwardian twin screw steamer, one of the oldest tourist attractions in Central Otago, and the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere. 

The ship was named after Mount Earnslaw, a 9,478-foot peak at the head of Lake Wakatip and at 168 feet long, is the largest steamship built in New Zealand and son the lake  The trip across took about 45-minutes and after landing at the dock at Walter Peak High Country Farm, they were greeted by the entire staff of the farm, from the maid to the cook, to a butler or two and then divided up into groups for the activity they were to engage in, whether that be a tour of the farm, a tea, or the promised horseback ride. 

Kim and Joanna would join a group of six including a couple who had never ridden a horse before, and this would mean that the ride would be a led one, that is a wrangler physically walked the group at a slow pace, fun if it is your first time on a horse but not so fun if you are experienced and would like to be able to direct the pace and perhaps the course of your ride.  They were out on the trail for about an hour before returning to the farm for their scheduled tea. 

The downside for our intrepid travelers of this tea is that it featured a spectacular assortment of petit fours, pastries, scones and more than enough to stuff oneself and not have to eat for the rest of the day.  The problem for them was our dinner reservation at Botswana Butchery, forcing them to exercise a restraint that put a damper on their enjoyment of the entire experience.  Finished with the tea they boarded the ship and 45-minutes later returned to the dock, where they disembarked and soon thereafter joined us at the restaurant.  We’ll cover dinner and our full day trip to Milford Sound the next day in the post that will follow. 

Links

Around the Basin: https://www.aroundthebasin.co.nz/

Half Day Walter Peak Horse Trek: https://www.viator.com/tours/Queenstown/Walter-Peak-Horse-Trek/d407-2264P24?googlettd=true&src=papi&campaign=cu&m=63845&supag=&supca=20927319006&supsc=&supai=&supap=&supdv=c&supnt=nt:x&suplp=9030985&supli=&supti=&tsem=true&supci=&supap1=&supap2=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwmYCzBhA6EiwAxFwfgIzND7L1HciNCyWtdjiH4o20WyLXtbgKo69t2c5Sg9OEaLb5Y5yXsxoC1oMQAvD_BwE

Altitude Brewing: https://www.altitudebrewing.co.nz/#

TSS Earnslaw: https://www.realnz.com/en/experiences/day-cruises/tss-earnslaw-lake-cruises/

Botswana Butchery: https://botswanabutchery.nz/queenstown/