Just when I thought I had said goodbye to winter, and was fully ready for summer, our trip to Queenstown almost made me change my mind! My Dad, Patrick, our exchange student, and I took a trip to Otago/Southland to show Patrick some more of our beautiful country. No one planned for it to be this amazing though! As soon as we hopped off the plane it started snowing, which was a huge surprise for all of us. We knew it was going to be cold weather, but none of us expected snow.
I was by far the most excited about the snow. We haven't had snow in about 6 years back in Christchurch. So even though I had seen some snow on the ground in places I hadn't seen it actually snow for 6 years. Driving into Queenstown from the airport was stunning. I felt like I was in a Christmas movie!
Everywhere you looked were insane views.
We arrived in Queenstown in the late afternoon on Saturday. To make the most of what little daylight hours we had we drove around Lake Wakatipu to experiece the view from different angles. 
You cans see from the clothes I'm wearing that I was not prepared for snow! I, being the overly prepared person that I am, had packed for every situation possible, but I only brought enough really cold stuff for one day.
I just couldn't believe how beautiful it was, it so felt like a Christmas movie!
Dinner that night was from Fergburger. For those of you who don't know Fergburger, it is a world famous burger joint only found in Queenstown, and is a must do if you are ever in the area. The burgers were the biggest, most delicious burgers I've ever tasted.
We spent the rest of the evening watching the rugby at a bar across from where we stayed.
We got up really early (like 6am early) hoping to see an amazing sunrise. However there was low cloud, so all we got was a drizzly walk along the water front.
It was a refreshing way to wake up, though. I wasn't surprised to find out that Queenstown looks beautiful in the early hours of the day too. It was much quieter, and very peaceful.
We drove up to Arrowtown for breakfast since we were planning to do the Shotover jet and bungee jump later that morning. It didn't take long for the snow to start falling again, in big, fluffy flakes. We walked around a little bit, but it was absolutely freezing so we headed back to Shotover river to wait for our jet boat ride.
The snow was falling really heavily when we got there, and we were informed that our boat ride was delayed. The boys decided to go bungee jumping early. I am no good with heights, so I stayed cozy and warm sitting by the fire in a cafe, doing some study for exams.
When the guys got back we finally got to do our jet boat ride, which was so fun, but so cold. I really enjoyed it after being shut up in that cafe for so long. After that we drove to Te Anau, which is about a 2 hour drive. I didn't take any pictures, but we drove right by the Remarkables mountain range. There are few times in life where I have really felt small, but this was one of them. It's hard to think your problems are the biggest deal in the world when you can't even see the tops of the mountains next to you!
We were planning to drive to Milford Sound the next day, but the road was closed due to the heavy snow, so we were forced to rethink our plan. We decided top drive as far along the road as we could, because there are so many viewing points along that road. One of our first stops was at mirror lakes.
We also stopped and walked to a waterfall by Lake Marion. I think it's important to point out that I took just as many photos of my Dad as he did of me!
In some places the snow was up to my knees, which made for some very intense snowball fights.
On one of our many stops we were joined by a friendly Kea. I was extremely happy about this as it meant Patrick got to see one before he headed back home. I named him Arthur.
It seemed like every place we stopped was more beautiful than the last. What started as last minute plans ended up being the most beautiful and fun day of our whole trip.
By the end of the day, my shoes were soaked, and I was exhausted. We drove back to Queenstown where we bought some cookie time milkshakes (This was a cheat day for me). I chose the Malteser shake and it was way to sweet for me. I loved it but there was no way I was finishing that whole thing by myself, I only got through half of it.
The next day was our last day in Queenstown. On our agenda was the Gondola, the Luge, and a cruise of Lake Wakatipu. The view at the top of the gondola once again was stunning.
By this point in the trip I was exhasuted, I was definitely ready to come home.
We had so much fun in Queenstown. Despite the weather not being what we expected, and even forcing us to change our plans, we had a great time. I was so sad to leave the beautiful views. The trip was kind of like a final goodbye to winter for me. It's mainly been lovely and warm in Christchurch since we got back, and I am so ready for summer!
Amesmames xx
