An annual must-do Autumn/Winter trip to the beautiful South Island…

My most favourite domestic getaway, whether short or long, it never fails to amaze me. How lucky are we to call New Zealand home?

I spent six beautiful days with my best friend exploring Queenstown and the surrounding areas, drinking wine (plenty of it), eating great food and visiting the best both unseen and tourist hot spots.

Naturally, I wanted to share my trip with you all, so here is my ideal way to spend six days in the South!

Day One:

A midday flight from Auckland to Queenstown (the earlier the flight the better to make the most of your first day, but making do with what we had via Jetstar’s ridiculously cheap airfare).

Collected our hire car from Ezi Rentals at the Airport - such an affordable and seamless process.

Checked into our beautiful accommodation, Driftaway, located in Frankton - only a 5 minute drive from Queenstown Airport and a 10 minute drive from Queenstown City. I fell in love with their lakeside villas after seeing them advertised on Instagram. They opened in March 2022 so the vibe felt very new and fresh. We stayed in one of their absolutely divine studio style self-contained villas overlooking the lake. Beautiful sunrise views, a balcony and everything you could ever need in the villa + the most gorgeous (up and coming) hot tubs in the city, but we’ll get more to that shortly. (Disclaimer: We were kindly offered an industry discount on our stay).
After unpacking and getting settled, it was a mandatory trip to Fergburger for an early dinner. Be sure to place your order via phone before arriving to avoid the mass queues, it gets crazy during the lunch and dinner rush. Our personal favourite is the classic Fergburger, you just can’t go wrong.

Dinner was as always, a 10/10. We had a wee walk around the lakeside as the sun was setting and headed home for a fab night’s sleep!

Day Two:

We were up bright and early, sadly welcomed by rain, however it was nonetheless absolutely stunning. We headed into the city for Fergbaker’s famous Belgium hot chocolate (if you know you know) and a bite to eat. Their hot chocolate is quite literally just melted Belgium goodness, very very sweet so a small is all you need. I always get the breakfast wrap when I visit and it is delish.

After breakfast, we popped over to the new R.M.Williams store to collect some boots for a gifted partnership - the store was so beautiful, be sure to check it out when you’re in Queenstown next!
We had a 12:00pm reservation at the breathtaking Cloudy Bay Shed in Cromwell, this is about an hour drive out of Queenstown which is so beautiful and scenic. I had been looking forward to visiting Cloudy Bay’s Winery after hearing and seeing so many great reviews - it seriously did not fail to impress us! The service was exceptional, the wine was of course fabulous and the food was great! We were still quite full from our breakfast so opted for the ‘taste of the shed platter’ and a few wines. We chose the best time to visit as we virtually had the place to ourselves for the first hour or so. I would 100% recommend Cloudy Bay Shed if you are visiting, the most gorgeous outdoor area and cosy indoor dining with a fireplace.

Naturally, our next port of call was window shopping. We headed over to Arrowtown, and straight to Seletti - my all time favourite spot to browse some of the most beautiful designer pieces. We tried on the dreamiest Chanel blazer, it was giving major Sofia Richie vibes and I can confirm I am still thinking about it to this day. Arrowtown is the most beautiful place in Autumn, the leaves and warm orange tones give it such a homely feel - must visit while you’re here.

Back to our villa for a quick change of outfit as we head off to dinner at Little Aosta in Arrowtown. We ordered the Hawaiian woodfired pizza and LA pasta, these were both so delish! And of course we had to be cheeky and try the Panna Cotta for dessert, 10/10 obsessed.

Day Three:

Straight to Jacks Point this morning for a coffee in the sunshine. Jacks Point is by far the most perfect spot to enjoy a relaxed morning (I am absolutely manifesting an early retirement there). Their coffee and cabinet food is super yummy!

It was then back to the city for some shopping. T Galleria by DFS has just recently opened in Queenstown in October 2022, so we were very excited to check this out. They are home to a tonne of luxury brands so it is the perfect place to go if you are looking for a touch of retail therapy. I somehow always seem to fall into the Jo Malone fragrance section?

Next up, we had a late lunch reservation at the beautiful Mora Winery and Artisan Kitchen (formerly known as Akarua) for a much needed glass of Pinot. I was so looking forward to coming here and it exceeded my expectations. I love how casual and relaxed the vibe was compared to some other wineries in the area. Even in spite of an overcast day, their indoor/covered dining area was divine. We enjoyed their selection of warm bread paired with stracciatella (god tier) and olives. I am a big fan!
We headed back towards Arrowtown to pop in at Millbrook Resort, which is certainly worth visiting if you can. We had a lovely walk around the lake, it is so beautiful in the Autumn/Winter time. They also have a cafe that we’ve heard is great but are yet to try.
It was then a very relaxed home-cooked dinner night back at the villa!

Day Four:

Brunch at The Boat Shed. Incredible food and even better coffee - the views were to die for and only a 4 minute drive from our accomodation in Frankton. Mia ordered the Chorizo Scramble (insanely good) and I ordered the Cilbir Eggs (also insane). It is a Queenstown brunch MUST.

Winery exploring! We headed straight to my all-time favourite winery, Amisfield, for a glass or two. Amisfield has such a chic feel to it, both their wine and food is incredible. Next we headed to Mt Rosa for a lunch date and wine tasting with my mum (who happens to live a few hours outside of Queenstown, yes I am very jealous). This was my first time at Mt Rosa, we were greeted by Fern and Baz - the cutest cellar door dogs and seated outside with blankets and the cosiest heaters. The view out to the vines was stunning! We got straight into our wine tasting. I wasn’t a huge fan of their Rosé or Pinot Noir - reds are usually my favourite so this was such a shame. However, they do the most incredible Pinot Gris and Mulled Wine. I ended up leaving with both bottles (oopsie). We also had a selection of their cellar door food and cheese platter, it was fab!

It was then a rush back to our accomodation to make our 4:30pm booking at the Driftaway on-site hot tubs. This is the up and coming spa spot in Queenstown, mark my words. We unfortunately didn’t have the best weather so the view could certainly have been a little better, however regardless, it was absolutely divine. It is discounted for guests at Driftaway so I absolutely recommend adding this to your booking if you are staying. The most relaxing experience, I already can’t wait to go back.

Dinner back at Fergburger and a dessert pit stop at the Cookie Time Cookie Bar for freshly baked warm cookies - my favourite!

Day Five:

We spent the morning at The Bathhouse which is a cafe that overlooks the lake. Unfortunately this was very average, the wait time for coffee was over an hour and the food was incredibly expensive for what it was. I always feel awful giving negative reviews but I sadly would not recommend.

Time for a wander around! We popped into a few of the art galleries and shops near the lake then ended up on a spontaneous road trip to Glenorchy which is about a 45 minute drive from Queenstown. Mia has never been to the South Island so we thought the famous Glenorchy shed would be a must visit. The drive is so beautiful and scenic, the great thing about having a car is the freedom to check out Queenstown’s surrounding scenery on your own terms!

After exploring Glenorchy we headed back to our accomodation, re-organised our luggage and checked into Kamana Lakehouse. An absolute must-stay in Queenstown! We spent the evening down at the lake watching the sun set and opted for a super easy takeaway dinner.

Day Six:

Naturally, we saved the best for last in terms of brunch spots - we headed straight to The Nest for coffee and breakfast with a view. The food and location really never gets old. We ordered the eggs benedict with bacon and it was 10/10! So convenient when you’re staying at the Kamana!

We had an awkward amount of time to kill before our flight back to Auckland so drove out to Arrowtown for a wine at Blue Door Bar.

After packing up our bags and checking out of the Kamana Lakehouse, we dropped our hire car to the airport and were on our way back to Auckland (much to our disappointment). See you again soon QT!

Summarised Must-Do’s:

(from previous trips & most recent)

Food / Drink Spots:

Fergburger
Fergbaker
Little Aosta / Aosta
Jacks Point
Blue Door Bar
The Nest
The Boat Shed
Bespoke Kitchen
Botswana Butchery
The Bunker
Rata
The Cow

Wineries:

Cloudy Bay Shed
Amisfield
Mora/Akarua
Mt Rosa
Kinross
Chard Farm

My Six Day Queenstown Itinerary.