My friend Nina and I had 1.5 more days in Queenstown before returning to Melbourne and we had to find something to do. First, after our unexpectedly successful paragliding experience, we thought of taking a hot air balloon ride over the town. This thought left as quickly as it came when we learned how much it cost. We switched to a less adventurous activity – a Central Otago wine tour.
We bought the tour from Altitude Tour. Since we booked it the night before the tour and it was not sold out, we got a discount and paid 259 NZD per person (about 164 USD). The tour was 8 hours with visiting 5 wineries. Lunch was not included but the agency paid for one glass of any drink at lunch.
I know very little about wine and I am not a wine drinker. I can have a glass in a good company, a second glass is too much for me. Nina is an expert on this subject and I listen to her. The idea of doing this tour appealed to me because it was an opportunity to go beyond Queenstown and to see other places as well. New Zealand’s nature varies a lot depending on the region.
The minivan came at 9.45 am, then we picked up 5 more people and drove to the first stop at Kinross winery where everyone listened attentively to the explanations and tasted the wine with solemn faces. The next winery was Carrick where the procedure repeated. We walked around the winery, the views were great and different from what we saw near Queenstown.
I liked the third winery, Misha’s, the most. It was not because their wines were better. By then, I could not tell one wine from the other but because of how warmly Misha, the winery owner, received us.
Our lunch was in a good restaurant. It was difficult to refuse a free glass of wine and I chose New Zealand chardonnay that I always liked. Although I drink rarely and little, I am familiar with this wine. After that, the things quickly went downhill for me. In the next two wineries, Mount Rosa and Domaine Thompson, I was more concerned about staying upright than about enjoying the wine tasting. We drank a little of 4 to 5 wines at each winery. However, this amount multiplied by 5 wineries plus a free glass at lunch turned out to be too much for the unaccustomed to drinking me. A well-trained Nina looked completely sober and claimed that she could drink another bottle. As for me, I could barely wait for the tour end.
Our flight to Melbourne was in the evening on the following. In order to kill time, we climbed Queenstown Hill. It was a 5.6-km walk with the elevation of 1,968 meters. Then, we picked up our backpacks from the hotel, took the bus to the airport and soon were on the plane to Australia.
