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We asked a few of our frequent visitors to tell us about their Queenstown holiday story, some have been coming here their entire lives and others have only just discovered the magic of our home – all have a special connection to Queenstown and a story to share.
Alana | Previous Local & Frequent Visitor | From Southland
Alana has an amazing family connection to Queenstown, enjoyed a stint as a local and frequently visits on holiday with her family. She often visits for work also as is a member of the Check In family – she shares her passion for Queenstown as a visitor destination by supporting our product development team remotely – you might find her sipping cocktails in Attiqa when she visits.
Here is Alana’s story:
“Queenstown has always been close to my heart…. from a young age we came here camping with the family, it was the best way to enjoy the summer holidays! Being surrounded in the beauty of the lake and mountains, watching the gondola go up and down the hill, the paraponter’s gliding through the sky to listening to the screams from the bungy above…
Queenstown is full of beauty and crazy antics! Camping was the best experience, getting to meet people from around our own country and afar, hearing their stories and why they were in town. Every summer we were lucky enough to get a ride on the Earnslaw to Walter Peak, my Mum’s Uncle used to take us over every visit, and we were even lucky enough to steer the ‘Lady of the Lake’ on a few occasions. My Great Grandad was one of the original captains of the steam ship, so it was a pretty special experience for us.
If we weren’t down at the Lake, we were cruising around the streets watching all the fancy new homes being built, taking a drive out to Arrowtown for an ice-cream, or just relaxing at the camping ground.
Later in life, one of my first jobs was working in Queenstown a well-known hotel – this lead me into my path of working in the hospitality industry…. I lived in Sunshine Bay and my flat was always full of people – over one year we had 32 different housemates – it was crazy – but it also showed how many people can walk through your door and make long lasting friendships from…I even lived with an original cook from Fergburger when it was just a hole in the wall in Cow Lane – how things have changed there!!
People come to Queenstown for all sorts of reasons, seasonal workers, those for the adventure and some come to stamp their mark on this growing community! It has been a few years now since I lived in Queenstown, but I keep on coming back and now I have the best opportunity of working remotely that still links me to the growing tourism industry this beautiful part of the world has to offer.”
whitelawmitchell
