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Vanessa van Uden | 22 years local | Your Sunshine Bay Neighbour
Being a born and bred Southlander Queenstown is home (regardless that many people think it’s in Otago!!) We had lived in Auckland but chose to come home to raise our children and what a place we chose.
Queenstown is an amazing place to live and it’s not just the outstanding scenery, the many and varied activities but also the interesting and stimulating people that chose to make this place home. Underneath the glitz and glamour is a strong and supportive community that looks after each other. The current challenges we are facing (as the whole world is) will change this place but I know that this community will remain the same at its core.
As a family we arrived here in 1998 and the Queenstown of today is a very different place from then. I have been actively involved in the community since we arrived and spent 9 years as an Elected Representative on the Queenstown Lakes District Council – 6 of those as the Mayor.
I have thought long and hard about my favourite things to pick one to share with you – it’s hard. There are so many! In the end I have chosen one of the many walks close to Queenstown – at Twelve Mile Delta. This is a public area on the road to Glenorchy (the best drive in the world in my humble opinion by the way!)
You start at the Delta car park and the walk takes you to Bobs Cove – you can go as far as you like. This walk takes you from the Delta through native bush and past ruins to another cove.
This is an easy to medium level walk that demonstrates the variety that is available here in Queenstown. It is easy to believe you are in the middle of the wilderness – quite often you will be the only person on the track and other times you will get to chat with people from all over the world as you wander along.
One of the most stunning places on the walk is a large rock which is off on a side track (takes a bit of looking for but really worth it) which has the most glorious view as below:
Around every corner of the track is something else to see. There are an amazing amount birds you will see. The most likely is the piwakawaka (fantail) – a quirky, cheeky, small bird with a tail like a fan. They will come close to check you out and then fly away again.
It is wonderful that you have chosen to come and visit us and I hope you enjoy every moment you are here. In amongst all the activities and buzz take the time to have a chat with some locals (we love our place and will happily share some inside knowledge with you) and explore some of the many local parks and walks.
whitelawmitchell
