It was an early morning in old Sydney town. We hazily got up and prepared our luggage and hopped in the car to the airport. We purchased priority parking as we have been caught before at the Sydney Airport spending an hour driving around trying to find a free space when there are none. This proved to be about the easiest thing of the day. Julian fell asleep as we were getting out of the car though, but we had a flight to catch, luckily, he stayed asleep as we transferred him to the pram.

We did the usual checking in and getting through customs and security which was a little bit more onerous when you have a baby. You can no longer go through the express lanes which slows everything down a little. We grabbed some hash browns and a ham and cheese croissant for breakfast which was classic airport food, overpriced and very average. We made it to the gate right on boarding time. It was one of them shitty deals where you have to get on a bus at the gate and get bussed to the plane. It was cramped and a mad rush to get there which cause more stress. Then onto the plane which was very cramped. We had Julian on our laps with the infant seatbelt on him.

Julian was fine for most of the flight. It was certainly a challenge. He did struggle with sitting still and despite our best efforts he cried because he got frustrated with not being able to move around at times. He got a little bit of sleep in which was interrupted by the descent. The flight seemed to go by pretty quickly which was nice. It was only about a 3-hour flight thankfully. It would be very difficult to have a young infant sitting on your lap for a flight any longer than that. It would be essential to buy him his own seat. Even then I think it would not be for the lighthearted

We arrived in Queenstown! The mountains looked stunning from the plane and look even more amazing from the ground. They’re just so beautiful and awe inspiring. We picked up the car, a RAV4 hybrid just like the one we own which felt very familiar. We checked into our accommodation which is an Airbnb located at the top of Shotover street. This is the main street in Queenstown and is the perfect location which is walkable to everything and has amazing views from the windows.

We walked down to grab some dinner. We chose something quick and easy as we are exhausted. It’s called Sal’s Authentic New York Slice. If you’ve read out blogs before you wouldve seen we came here last time in Queenstown, When we were in Wellington and when we were in Melbourne. Its basically New York Pizza by the slice. Nothing fancy, but always good.

Then we wandered around a bit. It is actually super cold here in Queenstown in the middle of summer. It’s about 10 degrees with very strong winds. After nearly blowing away we decided to stop in to get a mandatory Patagonia gelato. It is always average, but we come here because it is iconic and you can’t go to Queenstown without trying it. Aimee got dulce de leche, Ronnie got hokey pokey and Nan got a banana split. All average, but not too bad.

It was back to the Airbnb for sleep before we start our adventure in full tomorrow.

Costs:

Airport Breakfast: $30
Dinner at Sal’s: $59
Patagonia: $23
Supermarket Supplies: $25

Total: $137

Much Love,

Ronnie, Aimee & Julian