NZ’s South Island

Serene & Alluring

New Zealand may be a long plane ride from India, but once there you exhale deeply and say, “Wow! Worth it…”

Here I am now, recommending NZ’s South Island. Queenstown, its capital, is the crowing glory. But Christchurch has its charms and Wanaka its wilderness. Milford Sound has stunning landscapes and seascapes. Then there is Franz Josep, where a Cessna flight over the lowland forest on the edge of the Tasman Coast leading to the upper snowfields of Fox Glacier, going as close as possible to Mt Cook, is an unforgettable experience.
Summer in NZ is from October to the end of April, but I was there in late Spring, a time I like best. Still very cool and all kinds of life starting to stir, to grow joyfully. It’s when baby sheep are busy being born and the adults about to be sheared of their Merino wool.
Charming sights will greet you everywhere and quiet and solitude will be a constant. A wonderful mix of hotels, super luxury lodges and furnished apartments abound. Hospitality in NZ is informal, yet classy and understated.
The roads are a dream to drive upon, so if you are a roadster like I am, hire a car and just GO! The scenery is stunning everywhere and people basic and welcoming. The food, plenty of seafood, is extremely appetising. Totally fresh, almost always cooked in light sauces, naturelle and full of flavour.
When in Queenstown, you can go bungee jumping or take a chopper ride to a peak of your choice and have a champagne picnic! It lives up to its reputation as the adventure capital of the world with its jet boat rides, whitewater rafting, luging, paragliding, skydiving and skiing on the slopes of the Remarkables, a nearby mountain range. The less adventurous need not despair, they can go on lake cruises, and gondola rides, fishing, golfing, even bushwalking.
The town itself sits pretty on Lake Wakatipu with a park right by its side where locals converge, especially on a Sunday morning for the ‘open market’. The waterfront is the buzzing hotspot with chic restaurants, cheerful cafés, casual dining and family takeaway spots. After dark, unlike other places in size and population, the town comes alive. Nightclubs, noisy bars, music – rock and jazz, dancing… people walking around, laughing and talking, happy and drunk!
The place to stay, if you can afford it would be Azur in Sunshine Bay. A multi- million dollar resort, two kms. from the centre of Queenstown, Azur has villa-suites, is very private, aesthetically balanced, elegantly appointed. It clings to the hillside overlooking the lake and offers you the best in bathtub soaking leisure and pleasure!

Alluring Azur in Sunshine Bay

The baby sheep of the Merino family

Sunday afternoon at Queenstown Park