Coffee, as always, is first on the agenda today: we head over to Kingston Flyer Cafe and Bar and find the steam train is in position and steaming!

We have a takeaway coffee while we wait for the train to set off for it’s morning trip (it only operates on Sundays but sold out for us to go on today)

Time to get on the road so we make our journey along the east shore of Lake Wakatipu

Early on is the Devil’s Staircase Lookout Point so we have a brief stop

It’s not long before we make it through Frankton and have a stop at Queenstown Marina for a coffee at Norka’s Kai Cafe

This is where a bunch of the jet boat experiences start

Next, we drive in through the traffic at Queenstown to drive to Glenorchy so get on with most of the driving early and this road continues around Lake Wakatipu

We arrive and grab some lunch first from Mr Glen’s Taphouse & Tapas

After, we walk around the lake, stroll up the Glenorchy Wharf and sandbanks

This is where the lake starts to become Dart River

We’ve saved a pinpoint on Google Maps just north of here called Isengard Lookout (another LOTR point of interest) where a couple jet boats speed by

From here, we drive back down and pass through Queenstown again to check into our Airbnb in Jack’s Point

We have some time to chill with a couple cups of tea before heading out to explore Queenstown, finally

As it’s after 6 pm, we park up for free and wander the streets and waterside before grabbing a drink from probably the best view of the lake

Perky’s – Floating Bar Queenstown serves some pretty decent priced drinks

Getting hungry and trying to save some of our budget, we opt for a Domino’s deal and enjoy it on the wall behind the beach to try and catch the sunset (see the featured image)

Sadly, the clouds are far too thick today so we don’t get lucky but we do get a nice show of the famous steamboat, TSS Earnslaw, banking into its parking spot

As we’ve driven in, we decide to call it a night and drive back – we’ll be back in Queenstown in a couple months ????