The prettiest sunrise I’ve ever seen was here in Queenstown while enjoying breakfast before the tenth day of the Adventures by Disney New Zealand itinerary. The restaurant at the Hotel St. Moritz Queenstown overlooks Lake Wakatipu, and with a bus departure time of 8:00 am for today’s excursions, I’m not sure what woke me up more – the view or the coffee.
During the hour-long bus ride to Glenorchy, our Adventure Guides, Dusty and Danny, quizzed us on what we had learned so far this trip with a game of “Adventuredy!” (with similar rules to a popular game show that features categories, questions with point values, and answers that should be submitted in the form of a question). It ate up pretty much the entire ride and served as a nice refresher on the incredible journey we’ve had so far. And as we arrived in the small hamlet, we got a first glimpse at this morning’s adrenaline rush.
Before the Dart River Wilderness Jet Boat Tour, we were all outfitted with raincoats and life jackets, and given a neck gaiter. Glasses were recommended for the voyage. Our pilot also gave a thorough safety briefing before we ventured off into the braided, glacier-fed Dart River. With constantly changing river paths and lots of shallow banks, these high-speed, efficient boats made for a fun start to the day.
Our group was split between two boats, so we saw each other out on the waters multiple times. These boats are also famous for their ability to spin in deeper waters, which we experienced several times. There aren’t seatbelts on board, but there are handlebars, and they’re heated, which was a nice touch as these cool glacier waters were prone to misting us.
There were a few planned stops, including a riverbank where we could get out to look for greenstone and learn about some Māori legends. This area has also been used in several blockbuster films, including Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises.
A Disney connection to the area also lead into the pin of the day. The 2016 remake of Pete’s Dragon was filmed in New Zealand, and these forested mountains served as Eliot’s home in the film. The day’s theme was “A Remarkable Day,” featuring the original Elliott from the 1977 live-action/animated musical version of the story flying over these hills, a chain known as the Remarkable Mountains.
Our pilot told us about how the high concentration of gravel often kicks up rock dust into the air. Sometimes it can be so strong that they have to cancel these excursions, and we got a small taste of that on our way back to Glenorchy. Thankfully, it didn’t shorten our adventure.
The two-hour jet boat ride left us with some free time before lunch. Glenorchy is home to several charming shops and cafes and lots of nice beach areas to explore around the lake. There was also an exhibit inside the historic Wharf Shed, where old steamer ships used to dock to unload deliveries that were transferred to the railroad, primarily during the gold rush.
The Glenorchy Hotel served a buffet lunch, with various salads accompanying sliders, arancini, barbeque chicken wings, fried fish, french fries, and brownies. Non-alcoholic beverages were included, and alcohol was available for purchase at the bar.
After lunch, our group split into two excursions. The main one was horseback riding through Dart Valley, but our family chose the alternate option, a Nomad Safaris Jeep Tour of Glenorchy, which also took us back to Queenstown. Our driver was very knowledgeable about filming locations from The Lord of the Rings (and our Jeep’s license plate was “B0R0MR”), pointing out areas where some key scenes were filmed, including Sam’s ode to potatoes from The Two Towers.
Our driver was also a wealth of knowledge about the gold rush. He took us to the most intact concentrator, which helped automate the sifting process in the late 1800s.
The drive back to Queenstown felt like we had traveled “There and Back Again.”
The evening was left up to us to choose our own adventure. Queenstown is home to many wonderful shops and restaurants. It has a Skyline elevated experience like we tried in Rotorua (on Day 5), including luging tracks, and touring companies can also take Guests to locations for ziplining, paragliding, and bungy jumping, including from the bridge where the sport was invented.
The theme of this penultimate day was “A Remarkable Day,” but the song that was stuck in my head for most of it was “Brazzle Dazzle Day” from Pete’s Dragon. Check back each day to follow along on our Adventures by Disney trip to New Zealand.
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