The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have officially landed in Australia, following their world wind tour of New Zealand, and will soon be winging their way to us. We highly doubt the Duchess will have time to blog about her stay, however our resident royalty, Rebecca Carpenter has the details on beautiful Queenstown after a holiday with her family, earlier this year.

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  The basics

We flew Jetstar direct from Sydney. It’s an easy three hour flight and the staff were wonderful with the two girls. The bonus of flying Jetstar is they’ll happily take prams (even my giant double pram), portacots and car seats (we didn’t take ours because most hire car companies will supply both forward facing and rearward facing seats) at no extra cost.

We hired a Toyota Highlander (New Zealand’s version of a Toyota Kluger) – it magically fits two car seats, multiple suitcases and our enormous double pram with no problems. A 4WD/AWD can be a good idea as some scenic drives (such as the Remarkables Ski Area) aren’t accessible in a standard hire car.

If you can, book a self-contained apartment. Not only will you have the flexibility of being able to cook for yourself, the convenience of a laundry is essential with two little people.

Things to do 

Queenstown is absolutely bursting with activities and is famous for its adrenaline pumping adventures. Think bungy jumping, sky diving, downhill Mountain Biking, horse riding and speedboating through the canyons….none of which is easy to do with little ones in tow. There is plenty to do with the kiddies that doesn’t involve a racing heart.

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Take the cable car up the mountain for stunning views across the village and the lake. As a bonus, you’re at the same level as the helicopters on their scenic tours, which Miss 2 found very exciting! There is a luge at the top of the mountain to indulge the speed racer in you (small people can ride in your lap down the scenic track but not the speed track – this was also a big success with Miss 2).

If you’ve hired a car, drive out to the Remarkables ski area. In the warmer months, you can drive the 15km up the mountain for some seriously stunning views across the valley. *Hint* definitely take jackets and hats – even in the middle of summer it’s cold and windy at the top.

On Saturdays, there is a gorgeous arts and crafts market down by the water’s edge. Loads of local artists selling wares from jewellery to pottery, beautifully carved wooden kids toys to knitted hats and scarfs.

There are also plenty of companies offering jet boat rides across the lake. The boat ride takes about an hour and reaches speeds of up to 90km/hr. The boats are renowned for their epic 360 degree spins at speed. Thunderjet is more than happy to take small kiddies. Miss 2 (a bit of a daredevil like her Mummy), loved every minute of it but it could be a bit much for other small children. The other little boy on our ride definitely wasn’t as convinced! *Hint* it gets VERY cold and wet out there so remember beanies and raincoats.

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 Glenorchy, a little village on the lake 50km south of Queenstown, is also worth the drive –  have your camera ready for some truly spectacular views. If you’re so inclined, Dart Stables offer several different horse riding options. Lisa and her team are lovely and very clever at matching riders to their team of 65 horses. They offer rides from 90 minute with gentle walks aimed at riders with little or no experience who are just interested in the gorgeous scenery; to longer, faster 3 hour advanced rides. While riding, you can check out the mountains and rivers where The Lord of the Rings and Prince Caspian (just to name a few) were filmed. I did one of the advanced, faster rides with plenty of long trots and canters and loved every minute.

If you get stuck with a rainy day (more than likely as Queenstown gets lots of rain and the weather changes quickly and often in the mountains), Alpine Aqualand is a great place to visit with children. Completely undercover, Alpine Aqualand boasts a lap pool, hot pool, great toddler area (heated) and “lazy river” (a large loop with quite a strong current – perfect for floating along with or swimming against for some exercise).

Wineries that are too good to miss

Queenstown and the surrounding Central Otago area boast dozens of wineries famous for, in particular, their Pinot Noir and Rieslings. A few stand out labels (who also happen to have cellar doors in truly spectacular locations) and really shouldn’t be missed include:

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Chard Farm is a family owned vineyard located in Gibbston with seriously amazing views back across the valley. We loved everything we tasted at Chard Farm, but the few that came back with us were: 2012 Riesling – a classic, cool climate Riesling finished in an off-dry style (in other words, finished a little sweeter than a dry Riesling…makes for a delicious combination with food that’s a bit on the spicy side). This wine shows lovely white spice and lime aromas with strong citrus and pear flavours on tasting. 2012 “the Tiger” Pinot Noir – made from fruit that is hand selected from a single block close to the winery, this Pinot has amazing aromatics and really good texture. While drinking quite nicely now, the winemakers recommend cellaring for another three to four years.

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Rippon is a biodynamic vineyard at Lake Wanaka. The Cellar Door is perched on a hill overlooking vines that flow down the hill to the waters edge. Even if you don’t enjoy wine tasting (is that possible?), Rippon is worth a visit for the view.  The 2011 “Jeunesse” Young Vine Pinot Noir   is beautiful and really speaks for itself. I quite like the description from the tasting notes…”this wine is much like a child’s crayon drawing: vibrant, spirited and endearing”.

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Felton Road is situated on warm, north facing slopes of glacial soils in Bannockburn, in the heart of Central Otago. Another Biodynamic vineyard, Felton Road is internationally renowned for their Pinot Noir. The 2012 “Calvert” Pinot Noir is refined, elegant and really demonstrates “terroir” (a sense of place).

Food

Queenstown is overflowing with places to eat and there is masses of information available for people looking for a good bite to eat. That being said, a few places that really shouldn’t be missed include:

– Cow Restaurant, for seriously good pizza,

– Fergburger, world famous for their burgers (which more than live up to their reputation),

– Botswana Butchery, with an emphasis on fine cuts of meat and locally sourced food, and

– Aggy’s Shack, for exceptional fish and chips right on the waterfront.

And lastly, an essential part of a family holiday is some well-deserved, child free time. Around the Clock is an agency offering everything from casual babysitting to full time nannies. All the carers are first aid certified, police vetted and have experience with newborns to teens. Bridget was incredibly helpful and we were able to organise the same babysitter on the two nights we went out to dinner – meaning the small people were happy and I was confident to leave them.

All in all, Queenstown is a brilliant place to bring the family; royal or not….I’m already looking forward to coming back, maybe in the winter to check out some skiing.