So happy to see the sun shining again this morning when we pulled back our curtains! We opened up our breakfast box ( that had been delivered to a fridge yesterday afternoon) to see what we had for breakfast. Fruit, bread for toast, youghurt, jam, criossants, and three eggs in a bowl. At this point we spent five minutes trying to decide if they were hard boiled or raw! Turns out they were raw, so I pulled out a bowl and we whipped up some scrambled eggs to have on our toast.
Once we had washed up it was time to hit the road for our drive to Glenorchy. Glenorchy is a small, picturesque town located at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu. It’s about a 45-minute drive from the Queenstown, and I had read that the drive up the lake is “argualbly” one of the most scenic drives in new Zealand. That’s why we decided to wait for a better weather day for our drive.
The first part of the drive took us back down through Queenstown, and this time I took a photo of the queue of people waiting for a burger at Fergburger. Fergburger has achieved a status as one of “the Places” to eat in Queenstown, eating there is supposed to be one of those iconic things to do in town ( thus the queue!) however, I’ve heard mixed reviews about whether it really lives up to the hype. Looking at the queue, I doubt we’d be bothered! Maybe next time…
We carried on past the hustle and bustle and out along the lake. Our first stop was at Bob’s Cove. The name of the cove is attributed to Bob Fortune, who commanded a boat for William G. Rees, the founder of Queenstown. Fortune would often use the sheltered cove as a refuge from the strong winds on the lake. During the late 1800s, Bob’s Cove was a site for limestone quarrying. The Wakatipu Lime Company operated here, and you can still see the remains of a historic lime kiln on the walking track. The lime produced at the cove was used in the construction of notable buildings in Queenstown, including the Courthouse and the Kawarau Bridge. We parked in the rapidly filling parking lot, and set off to walk down around the waters edge and then up over ‘Picnic Point”. We passed some pebbly beaches and saw a few people willing to dip their toes in the ( very cold!) water. It was a steep walk in places and at one point we reached a place where we could go left or right. Decision time!
Fortunately a nice young English chap ( with a baby on his back!) told us that both ways led to the point and one was steeper than the other. We were glad we’d met him, as the “less steep” way was still a climb, but the “steeper” way that we used to return was like a goat track! However, it was worth the effort because the view from the summit down over the cove and down the lake was lovely.
Back at the car, our parking spot was gratefully taken by a newcomer. The tiny parking lot was overflowing and the people coming in were looking dismayed and driving on…
We continued down the lake, enjoying the views and eventually pulled in to the parking lot of Bennets Bluff. Now this lot was mostly empty.. and I thought the views were better from here. However, you couldn’t dabble your toes in the lake at Bennets Bluff and I think that must have been one of the big attractions at Bob’s Cove.
We carried on the road that wound up and down along the lakes edge. The views just got better and better as the snow capped mountains rose up in front of us.
Finally, we pulled into the tiny town of Glenorchy, a town that has one of the most beautiful settings I’ve seen. Before European settlement, the area was a summer camp for Māori who traveled from the West Coast to collect greenstone from the Dart River. The first European settlers arrived in the 1860s, primarily as shepherds. Later, gold and scheelite mining became significant industries. Scheelite, a mineral containing tungsten, was particularly valuable for armaments during the World Wars. The town was surveyed in 1864, and for many years, access to Glenorchy was primarily by boat from Queenstown until the road was completed in 1962. Now it is a popular tourist draw, particularly as many nearby sites featured as locations in the Lord of the Rings movies.
First we stopped at the main parking lot neat the famous Red Shed. It is a restored, historic steamship depot built by New Zealand Railways for the storage and sorting of goods transported by steamers on Lake Wakatipu, serving as an important logistical hub for the gold rush and settlement era before roads were built. Now it is a very Instagrammed photo spot!
We walked out on the pier behind the shed and enjoyed the views up and down the lake, which was very peaceful and shallow here.
From the pier we walked up along the lake and then a part of the way along the Glenorchy Walkway. This walking track leads along the river and through the wetlands behind the town. The wetland’s claim to fame is that they were the Dead Marshes in the Lord of the Rings.
We were getting a little peckish by now so we headed back into the town to stop in at Mrs Wooley’s General Store and Cafe. I had read that the pies here were VERY tasty, so we thought we’d give it a go. Neil chose a venison pie and I had beef mince and cheese and they DID live up to the hype – even the coffee was good here! So if you’re ever in Glenorchy, make sure you visit Mrs Wooleys.
After lunch we drove another 8km north as I had one more LOTR location in my plan. At the head of the lake there is a bridge, and beyond that the view up the river was a location spot used for a view of Isengard in LOTR, the home of Saruman. The drive up was pretty, and I took the appropriate shots from the bridge, but you might have to use your imagination to see the tower of Orthanc in the distance…
After this we turned around and headed south for the drive back to Queenstown, still enjoying the scenery along the way.
We stopped in at the Queenstown Woolworths to stock up on a few groceries but by 3.30pm we pulled in to the winery. We could see they were in the process of servicing our room so we stopped near the entrance to take a picture at their conveniently placed barrel chairs before heading back to the room.
The we thought we’d have a game of Petanque at the court outside our room, which was definitely one-sided. The score was 13-2 at the end, I’ll leave it up to you to guess who won!
Tonight we enjoyed our leftover chicken pie and garlic bread from last night. Our little cottage here has been cosy and comfortable, and I recommend the place to anyone who was looking to something different in the area. Tomorrow, we head on to Te Anau.