Travel – Page 25 – Life is a Journey

Queenstown – Part 2

Posted on May 10, 2019October 11, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Queenstown is such a beautiful place. While Kevin was at work I enjoyed going for exploration walks around the town in the morning, and then relaxing/reading in the afternoons. On Sunny days it was lovely to enjoy lunch on the hotels deck while enjoying the view and doing some reading.

We went out for dinner a few nights – at the Blue Kanu Kevin had a fancy cocktail and duck nachos while I had a delicious tofu & veg stirfry. Luckily it was easy to find vegan meals everywhere we went.

One day I went for a walk around Queenstown Gardens – which is so picturesque (and would be even more stunning in another month or so when the leaves change colour). It was lovely walking beside the water and the huge pines.

Another night we dined at Muskets & Moonshine. I had plant based jambalya and I was craving potatoes so I got a side of them and took them home for breakfast the next day. Dinner was delicious and we enjoyed the English pub type atmosphere.

I also visited the Kiwi Birdlife park – and it was so awesome to see real life kiwi’s. I don’t think I’ve seen one before and they are much bigger than I thought!! I reallyenj

Stunning arrival in Queenstown, NZ

Posted on March 14, 2019October 11, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Kevin had yet another work trip to Queenstown and this time I was lucky enough to be able to accompany him. I had originally planned to go for the whole two weeks but when we realized Christy would be picking up her puppy on the middle weekend, I decided to only stay for one week.

It was my first time flying Jetstar and besides the long line to check in, it really wasn’t too bad. The seats did seem a little squashier compared to Qantas but it was only a 2.5 hour flight (and I had an empty seat beside me.

I had preordered a SumoSalad and it was delicious (sorry I can’t work out how to rotate the picture).

As you can see the flight into Queenstown, over the mountains, was stunning. And Kevin says it’s even better in Winter they are covered in snow. In customs (which took some time as they were x-raying every bag) I recognised some of the people from Border Security NZ. We then pickup our rental car and headed for our hotel.

The Mi-Pod Hotel is very modern and would suit most people. However, we do prefer an apartment with a kitchen and room to spread out (especially on a trip like this where I will be spending a fair amount of time in the room).

If you watch the vlog you will just how small the room is (great for sleeping in but not much else).

Anyway, we got settled (can’t unpack as there is no wardrobe or drawer unit) and watched some Netflix (currently watching Designated Survivor).

To see more of our day please check out my vlog….

Vegas & California Road trip Nov/Dec 2018

Posted on December 14, 2018October 11, 2026 by Libby Withnall

Last November I accompanied Kevin to Vegas where he was attending a conference. I had a wonderful week and were able to see quite a few Cirque de Soliel shows in the evenings. I did vlog on my YouTube channel and made a momento album for my photos.

After the conference we flew to San Francisco, where we enjoyed a few days sightseeing before picking up a rental car for a roadtrip down the Pacific Coast Highway. This was our first time doing this trip and we loved it (though Kevin didn’t really enjoy so much driving on the “wrong” side of the road). Of course, we had 4 days at Disneyland, before finishing our trip in San Diego.

Vegas/Cali Playlist

USA Trip : Day 28 – Last day at the parks

Posted on December 29, 2016October 10, 2026 by Libby Withnall

This morning we were up and out the door by 7.20am and patiently waited in line for the gates of Universal Studios to open at 7.45am. It was sprinkling a little but wasn’t too bad. And it was a LOT cooler, only 14C.

Luckily when we made our way to Hogsmede today, Escape from Gringotts was open and we were able to ride. Athena hadn’t fitted in the test set but I knew that many people had still been able to ride – which was the case for Athena.

The bank is amazing.

And I thought the ride was really cool. So glad I got to ride it.

Then it was time for some more spell casting.

and pretending to be Hagrid.

We then caught the train back to Hogwarts.

So happy to get to enjoy it with less crowds.

Christy went to ride Dragon Challenge.

We We still hadn’t had breakfast so opted to have breakfast in the 3 Broomsticks.

It’s the same menu as the other day but I was happy to have potatoes again. And a pancake.

It was still only 14C and Athena was very cold (the rest of us were warmer because we were walking) so Athena and I went back around to the Super Hero area so they could get a jumper.

Meanwhile Kevin did the dinosaur encounter, which was really cute, while Christy went to ride Jurassic Park.

Time for another traditional photo.

Since Christy was already wet from Jurassic Park, she decided to do ALL the wet rides and ended up soaked.

As we left the park we stopped to do some more shopping and Christy finally decided to buy herself a Hufflepuff robe (from Harry Potter).

We then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. The first time we ever went to one was on our last trip here in 2012.

Kevin was feeling the effects of just a few sips of his Long Island Iced Tea.

Thee’s burger came in a little guitar plate (they had already bought one to take home)…

as did Christy’s mac n cheese…

Since they didn’t have the same salad I’ve always gotten before (sadly) I opted to have nachos instead. Thankfully they were delicious.

Kevin had potato skins.

We then went back to the room for a bit. Unfortunately it was too cold for a last swim so I just played on my laptop.

Then about 4pm we headed back to the parks for the last time.

Thee bought these light up cat ears and let Christy borrow them.

We went back into Universal Studios and all did the Mummy ride together. So fun, but my back hurt in the same part again :-(.

We decided to have dinner at Finnegan’s Bar and Grill – which we’d enjoyed on our last trip.

We were able to get a table right away which was good, but our meal did take some time to arrive.

The kids and I all had the potato and leek soup.

The live music was good, though a little loud (for us anyway).

After dinner it was time for some last spell casting in Hogsmede.

Before catching the train back to Hogswart. Christy, with her robe on, looked quite the part.

Both the Harry Potter areas are absolutely stunning at night and it was a lovely way to end our trip (even if the kids did end up arguing for a bit 🙁 ).

Kevin and Christy rode the castle ride, while Athena and I enjoyed some people watching.

We actually finished right when the park closed at 10am so walked back through a very empty park – which was great.

We were all tired, but very happy, with our last day of theme parks. But also sad that the holiday was over and were heading home in the morning.

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