This morning our alarm went off at 4:30 am, only about three hours after we managed to get to bed last night after trying to organise ourselves to be in New Zealand this week. Our driver arrived just after 5:00 am, but it was nearly 5:30 am when we set off for the airport. Needless to say, we were not operating at full efficiency!

We had a very relaxing drive to the airport. There’s not a lot of traffic that early on a Sunday morning. But we were surprised at how busy the airport was when we arrived there around 6:00 am. There’s no doubt that people are back travelling again!

We checked in, made our way through security, and headed for the lounge. Even though it was still too early to eat, we figured we’d probably fall asleep on the plane, so it would be worth having something to eat in the lounge. We enjoyed Bircher Muesli (Andrea) and scrambled eggs on sourdough toast, espresso coffee, and champagne (Keith!).

Breakfast in the lounge.
Breakfast in the lounge.

The flight departed on time, and we dozed off to sleep for a fair bit of it. In under three hours we were descending into Queenstown. The approach into Queenstown is spectacular. The photos out of the plane window do not do justice to the incredible scenery.

The view on approach to Queenstown airport.
The view on approach to Queenstown airport.

After landing we collected our bags, got the keys to our hire car (a hideous blue Toyota Corolla!), and set off for the roughly 50km drive along Lake Wakatipu to Blanket Bay. The drive was very scenic along the winding lake shore road.

We got to the hotel early in the afternoon. After being shown to our room, we decided we needed some sustenance to get us through until dinner. We had a lovely cheese board delivered to our room, and we feasted on that while taking in the incredible views out of our room.

Our room at Blanket Bay.
Our room at Blanket Bay.
Afternoon snack.
Afternoon snack.

The hotel is set just back from the lake shore and the scenery in every direction is breathtaking.

The view from our room.
The view from our room.
The hotel.
The hotel.
The hotel.
The hotel.

An afternoon nap seemed appealing, but we decided to push on and go for a walk instead. We had a lovely walk along the lake shoreline, taking in the scenery and the flora.

Flowers on the lake shore.
Flowers on the lake shore.
Looking across the lake.
Looking across the lake.

After getting back from our walk, we went back to our room to relax before dinner. We decided to read for a while, but we ended up nodding off to sleep, waking up at around 6:30 pm.

We got dressed for dinner and headed to the dining room. We bypassed drinks and canapes in the bar and opted to have them at our table before dinner. We were surprised to be offered a table outside for dinner because it was only about 14C outside but, oddly, 14C here seems much warmer than it is in Melbourne! So, we sat outside, looking over the beautiful lake and mountains.

Dinner was fabulous. The dishes highlighted local produce and the quality of the food was fantastic.

A Negroni before dinner.
A Negroni before dinner.
Dinner.
Dinner.

We’re now back in our room, shortly to retire for the evening. We’re still figuring out what we’ll do tomorrow. We’ll see how we feel when we wake up and plan from there.