Uma checked in often

New Zealand | Feb 21 - Mar 6, 2026

Beautiful hotel tucked in the trees. Everything was amazing. The restaurant was excellent. But they had two large bus tours come in and take over. It was super loud and the independent travelers were complaining. We sat outside to get away from it a bit. Would reco holding out some seats in a quieter place for independent travelers. Only other hitch was that the bartender had no idea how to make a manhattan.

Quirky fun hotel. A-frame rooms with exposed beams. If you get a room with a view it's amazing. Not sure what the experience would be like without one. Was at the top of a steep hill so anyone going into downtown like we did a couple times a day would need to walk up that. We were fine with it but we did see a lot of winded people slowly walking up to the hotel.

Looked like all the rooms had a view and is right on the ocean. They get big bus tours that take over the restaurant (that has a great view) Should hold out some tables for independent travelers.

Beautiful old time classic hotel right around the corner from Trafalger Street. We ate at a great restaurant with a fun vibe, Hawker House about 5 minutes walk away.

This was the perfect thing to do after hiking the Milford Track. My wife and I are both not huge massage people but after this experience we might be converts. I think the hiking tour companies would be smart to sell this as a package with their hiking tours.

An easy day with a bus ride from Queenstown to Lake Te Anau. Then an hour boat ride to the start of the trail. Less than a mile hike to the lodge. After dinner they offered an easy nature hike behind the lodge which was a great basis for everything we'd be seeing in the next couple of days.

This was easily the most beautiful hike we've ever been on. We had the benefit of great weather. It felt warm but like we were hiking in air conditioning. And the moss covered forest was unlike anything we'd seen in our lives. Sounded like this was the dryer side of the hike but still must get a lot of rain. Something like 200-300 inches/yr and 200 days annually of rain. The grade is slowly uphill with a little difficult rock scrambled caused by a slip near the end. Marking the trail across the slip was a little tricky but they had a guide posted to show us the way. Hidden Lake off-shoot was OK but the Prairie Lake swim was great. Take the plunge and swim quickly under the waterfall. Then swim back quickly before your limbs go numb from the cold!

This was the longest day of hiking. Started out with more of the same rocky downhill then leveled off more to a wider path downhill. Was pouring rain to start so tough going and had to cross some knee deep water crossing the path. Got back wet and soggy but not as tough a day as the one before.

There was a lot of angst and confusion to start about what to bring and wear on this first day. We weren't aware that we were doing the trip backwards so we'd planned to hike, which was usually the way day 1 started but we started kayaking. Had to quickly unpack and repack on the floor of the tour company and the change. Feel like that could have been better communicated before so we could have planned better. Not a great start to the trip. We started a bit later so the winds had whipped the waves up (as they do most afternoons). We wound up bikin g the last sector because the guide said the next leg was going to have waves 3 times as big.

This was a tough day of hiking. We had prepared for the uphill over the pass. It was tough but the path was generally well taken care of. The downhill side of the pass was way tougher than we expected. Endless large rock steps were tough on the muscles and joints. My wife fell a few times and this is where most of the injuries occur. The first 1/3 is above the tree line so can be windy. Once into the forest it gets steep and rocky. There are stairs around the waterfall to start but the the trail descends into miles of rocky steps. If you wear knee braces then put them on for this one. Springs and wet trails just add a slipping factor to the fun.

Easy day on a boat tour and bus back to Queenstown