Day 6 – En Route to Kiwi Land, New Zealand (Monday, March 9)
Getting to New Zealand turned out to be more of a journey than I expected. It’s an island nation sitting over 1,400 miles from Brisbane, so our early flight had us wheels up and landing in Queenstown by late morning on March 9.
From there, it was a quick 20-minute ride to our hotel on the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu—one of those views that stops you in your tracks. We stayed at the Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, a perfect launch point for the days ahead.
After a great lunch at Botswana Butchery, we headed to the Ultimate Hikes Centre for our pre-track briefing and gear pickup—final prep for the next five days on one of the world’s most famous hiking trails: the Milford Track.
A little context…
New Zealand consists of two main islands—the North and South—home to some of the planet’s most diverse and dramatic landscapes: snow-capped mountains, fjords, rolling hills, and pristine lakes. If it looks like something out of The Lord of the Rings, that’s because it is. While most of the epic scenery was filmed on the South Island, the Shire (Hobbiton Movie Set) and Mordor (Tongariro National Park) were filmed on the North Island.
Queenstown sits on the South Island and is known as the adventure capital of the world—bungee jumping, jet boating, skydiving—you name it. But it also has a quieter side: vineyards, scenic lake cruises, and access to some of the best hiking anywhere.
Now here’s a fun one…
As someone who appreciates the outdoors, I found this fascinating: Australia has over 100 species that can seriously ruin your day.
New Zealand? Almost none.
No snakes.
No dangerous land predators.
Very few truly dangerous creatures.
Just one thing near the top of the food chain…sandflies. (We’re about to learn that the hard way.)
Milford Track officially kicks off at 9:00 AM tomorrow.
Let the adventure begin.
