Kia Ora! It is our final full day in New Zealand. We are sad to leave but we are about ready to get home. Feeling pretty exhausted and ready to sleep in our own bed and enjoy the comforts of home. We woke up and enjoyed another great included breakfast in bed. Lovely.

We were in for a long drive today so we got going early. It was about 2.5 hours drive to our morning activity. It was another hike. This was our 6th and final hike of the trip. We have really enjoyed these hikes. We love getting out in nature and getting a bit of exercise in amongst it all. This one was called the Blue Pools track. It was about 3kms through forest-y type tracks and over a decent suspension bridge until you arrive at a little lagoon that has stunningly blue water. It was so nice. If it was warmer and we had towels we definitely would’ve taken a dip. It was gorgeous.

We completed the hike and got back in the car for the next 1.5 hours to Wanaka. It was really nice to revisit Wanaka as it is up there with our favourite places in New Zealand. The views of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea on this drive were also spectacular. Aimee grabbed a venison and rosemary pie and Ronnie got a croissant and we sat on the lake appreciating the view for the last time before we got back on the road.

It was then Wanaka to Queenstown. We have already done this drive so we know what to expect. It was the Crown Range Road which is a great but terrifying drive that takes you to the top of a mountain. Really cool.

It wasn’t long before we came cruising into Queenstown. We stopped at Queenstown Central and got some late lunch. We had a couple of tacos at a place that was closed when we were first here – Taco Medic. We grabbed some corn chips with salsa as well as a fish taco and a chicken and pineapple taco. These tacos were damn delicious. They had the right amount of tang, meat, spice and slaw. Top notch. The fish was a little overcooked on the fish one but the chicken taco was delightful.

We only got a small amount at Taco Medic because we also knew we wanted some Sal’s next door. We love Sal’s. We had it in Wellington, Melbourne and now Queenstown. We would have it anywhere. We got the little neck combo – two slices of pizza (we got pepperoni and mushroom, and meatball), three garlic knots, a drink and some Sal’s legendary dipping sauce. Delicious as always.

We then drove through Queenstown and up to our accommodation. It was quite a nice hotel we were staying at, The Kamana Lakehouse. A little bit far away from the main town but stunning views. We settled in, cleaned the car out, arranged our bags and headed back into town for our last night in Queenstown. We spent some time at the boardwalk taking pictures and taking in as much of the view as we could.

We walked over to our favourite restaurant in QT Margo’s because they have a Mezcal bar underneath called Little Mez. We grabbed some salsa verde with corn chips and a tropical punch mocktail each which was delicious. Really cool vibes in this little bar. It was also nice to revisit that delicious salsa verde too.

It was then back to the famous Fergburger. We figured that we would have another go at the absolute classic. This time Ronnie ordered the Sweet Julie which is a chicken burger marinated in ginger and soy sauce. Aimee got the tropical swine which was a beef burger with cheese, pineapple and bacon. We also got fries this time as we have heard they are great. We walked down to the boardwalk area to eat our burgers and yet again they were excellent. Fergburger bakes their own buns, makes their own sauces and gets all their produce fresh every day and you can tell. Another exceptional burger. The fries were also well seasoned and delicious. Fantastic – you can see why it is so popular.

After the Ferg we ducked back into patagonia one last time to try a different flavour of gelato. This last night in QT was really an opportunity for us to retry some of the famous locations to get a full breadth of experience. Aimee got the hokey pokey gelato in a cone and Ronnie got coconut straciatella with milk chocolate drizzled on top (which again went hard immediately). We grabbed our gelato and stood out on the boardwalk watching the sun set over QT for the last time. It was such nice ice cream and the view was breathtaking. We are going to miss this.

We took a slow walk along the boardwalk and through the streets of QT before returning to our car and driving to our hotel to pack our bags and get ready to leave in the morning.

Spending:

Wanaka bakery: $14
Sals: $17
Taco medic: $19
Little Mez: $31
Ferg: $47
Gelato: $15
Total: $143

Much Love,
Ronnie & Aimee.