Day 8 (Mar 13, 2013): Glenorchy, The Routeburn Track, and Arrowtown

The Quick Facts:

* Drove from Queenstown to Glenorchy which is filled with stunning scenery (Glenorchy is where a majority of Lord of the Rings was filmed)
* Hiked the first two sections (~9km, 3500m in elevation) of the Routeburn Track, one of the world’s 10 “great walks” as designated by Lonely Planet
* Stayed at Poplar Lodge in Arrowtown, which is a cute little town ~30 minutes outside of Queenstown (stop for a sticky bun at Provisions Café, and for a glass of wine at Blue Door; we also had dinner at the Fork and Tap which was very good (the morroccan beans especially) *and* the first place we’ve encountered where the prices weren’t jaw-droppingly offensive)

The Good:

* Sheep traffic jam
* Routeburn Track is truly a wonderful walk, with a well-cared for trail to match its worldwide esteem
* Arrowtown is a great little town and the perfect quiet antidote to Queenstown

The Bad:

* Wish we had another ~2 days to hike the entire Routeburn track

Today we made the ~80 minute drive from Queenstown to the beginning of the Routeburn Track, which involves a drive up the coast of Lake Wakatipu and the town of Glenorchy (much of the Lord of the Rings was filmed in this area).  Here are some views from our drive:

And here is the New Zealand version of a traffic jam…
 

 

Once we got to the Routeburn Track, we did the first two sections which is ~9km and a climb to 3500m above sea level.  Here are the photo highlights:

 

 

 And, here is Picnic Lunch Part II, this time from the top of Routeburn Falls…this is really how all of us should have lunch!

 

After our hike we drove to Arrowtown, which is a cute little town ~25 minutes from Queenstown.  See above for what we did for restaurants, bars, hotel.  I would definitely recommend staying a night here if you ever get to NZ (thanks Liz N. for the recommendation)!

 

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