Sunday Star-Times

Queenstown on your doorstep

Brett Atkinson finds a relaxing, friendly base from which to explore Queenstown.

- Pamela Wade

New Zealand’s first Holiday Inn Express, which opened in July last year, is a versatile hotel making it easy for leisure and business guests to maximise their time exploring the surroundin­g region.

The space

Located on a ridge above the lakefront, the dramatic rooftop and architectu­ral style of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown reflects the jagged, indigo skyline of the nearby Remarkable­s mountain range.

The social focus for the hotel is the Great Room, which combines the reception, a cafe and bar, and shared spaces for relaxing. Charging stations and free wi-fi make it a good spot for planning activities. A guests’ laundry, a drying room for ski equipment and apparel, and facilities for washing mountain bikes reflect visitors’ needs when exploring the region, and there’s also a sauna, a compact gym, and storage lockers for golf clubs.

Facilities for business travellers include spaces for smaller meetings and larger conference­s. Sustainabi­lity-focused initiative­s throughout the hotel include carpets made from reclaimed fishing nets and an energy recovery system.

The room

One of 227 rooms and suites, my one-bedroom suite had excellent views up Lake Wakatipu. A compact kitchenett­e included a convenient pod coffee machine, microwave and dining table, and the Scandi-style bathroom was modern and spacious.

The hotel’s bathroom products include shower gel from the Urban Skincare Co, and the flat-screen TV offers Chromecast functional­ity to stream from smart devices. Having a choice of pillows from soft to firm made for a great night’s sleep.

The food

Served in the hotel’s Great Room, an Express Start Breakfast is included, with a selection of cereals, frittata, breakfast croissants and hot dishes.

Compliment­ary espresso coffee and other hot drinks are available, and light meals, including gourmet burgers, are also served in the Great Room. Partner one with a Powder Day Pilsner from Queenstown’s Altitude Brewing, or catch up over cocktails or wine amid the cosy interior.

Worth stepping out for

It’s a downhill, 750-metre walk to Queenstown’s lakefront and the best of the southern city’s cafes, bars and restaurant­s. Recent openings include Margo’s for Mexican-inspired cuisine and cocktails, and shared plates at Ferg’s Bar.

Best reached on two feet, or two wheels, along the Frankton Trail, the Frankton Marina features The Boat Shed Cafe & Bistro located in a historic New Zealand Railways Shipping Office. Rent a bike from Vertigo Bikes to make the 6km lakeside journey from central Queenstown.

Many of the region’s iconic adventures are offering substantia­l discounts, including skydiving, river rafting and scenic flights, and it’s worth visiting informatio­n centres and booking agencies around town for good deals.

For adrenaline junkies, visit Oxbow Adventure Company’s new Gibbston Valley location for its intense jet sprint boats and off-road adventures. Book them for the morning, so you can relax amid the valley’s vineyards in the afternoon. To explore the burgeoning craft beer scene, book a guided tour with Queenstown Beer Tours.

The highlight

The modern and stylish decor incorporat­es design motifs and colour accents from the rugged landscapes surroundin­g Queenstown, including local schist and pounamu.

The lowlight

The (very) minor problem of my room’s coffee mugs being too tall to fit neatly under the kitchen’s coffee pod machine.

The service

Friendly, informal but profession­al from a multinatio­nal team.

The verdict

Smooth and efficient service and facilities.

More informatio­n

A night at Holiday Inn Express is from about $145. Visit ihg.com.

The writer was hosted by Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown. $3,500 pp 3 August

$3,299 pp 2 June, 3 July, 12 July, 11 August $3,869 pp 11 June

If you’re up for¯a bit of an expedition, you’ll get a proper reward in the Opa¯rara Basin in Kahurangi National Park on the West Coast, 25km north of Karamea.

Created over one million years of steady erosion by the tanninstai­ned O¯ pa¯rara River, are three elegant arches cut through the 35-million-year-old granite and limestone.

You can read all about their formation on the informatio­n boards at the car park, then enjoy a pleasant walk through lush, fernfilled beech and rimu rainforest, home to many birds including ka¯ka¯ and, enjoying the rapids at the river, the rare whio, or blue duck.

It’s a primitive and fragile ecosystem that’s marvellous to see, but visitors should continue the good work begun by those who halted logging there in the 1980s by taking care not to damage it.

Why go?

Because, according to the Department of Conservati­on, the main arch is the biggest in the southern hemisphere at 43 metres high, 79m wide and 219m long. It is certainly properly impressive: a huge and graceful curve above your head, artfully lit from both directions, with reflection­s below in the dark waters of the river.

There are steps inside, leading up to a viewpoint from where the entrances, fringed with mosses and ferns, frame the surroundin­g bush. Short-tailed bats live there, and we¯ta¯, and the really lucky might even spot a giant land snail.

Insider tip

Be prepared for a slow, narrow, winding, and bumpy 16km drive along an unsealed road to the car park, then a walk along a well-made 2km track with steps. Good shoes are recommende­d, and you will appreciate having a torch. If your vehicle isn’t suitable – height restrictio­ns apply – hire a car for the day at Karamea. Picnickers will be visited by bold weka.

On the way/nearby

Take the easy loop walking track to the well-named Mirror Tarn and the 19m-high Moria Gate Arch of Lord of the Rings fame, for some more striking sights, including moa footprints in the rock. It’s well worth the optional clamber down into the cave for a photo.

If you continue past the O¯ pa¯rara Arches, 2.5km further along the road there is an easy track to the Crazy Paving Cave and Box Canyon to explore too, where, if you look closely, there are fossils to spot in the limestone, drip formations overhead to see, and glow-worms.

If you want more caves, consider booking the Honeycomb Hill Cave option with Karamea’s Opa¯rara ¯ Guided Tours, to explore areas not accessible to the public because of the fossilised bones of moa and other extinct birds there.

How much?

It costs only effort and patience, for which you will be generously rewarded.

Best time to go

Ideally on a fine day as rain can make the going slippery, though the compensati­on is a small waterfall inside the main arch. westcoast.co.nz

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 ??  ?? Having a choice of pillows from soft to firm made for a great night’s sleep at Queenstown’s Holiday Inn Express.
Having a choice of pillows from soft to firm made for a great night’s sleep at Queenstown’s Holiday Inn Express.
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