Along Lake Esplanade, Queenstown

One of my favourite places in Queenstown is along this street called Lake Esplanade. Each time I am in Queenstown, without fail, I would spend time strolling along this stretch of road. Lake Esplanade is very central and leads to/from Queenstown CBD near the Steamers’ Wharf where the steamship TSS Earnslaw docks. I guess many tourists/visitors have strolled along this street without knowing its name.

On one side of the road are the hotels and apartments, and on the other side is a park/reserve that fronts Lake Wakatipu and this park/reserve offers a picturesque view of the mountains and lake. Many of my best memories and best photos of New Zealand were along this street.

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The hotels and apartments along Lake Esplanade
Queenstown, Aug 2006

If you are looking for accommodation in Queenstown, especially with views of the mountains and lake, you may wish to consider the hotels and apartments along Lake Esplanade. In above photo, you will find the Rydges Hotel (white building from the left), Outrigger, The Beacon (centre) and Lakefront Apartments (right, with blue signposts).

Opposite these hotels and apartments is the park/reserve where I shot the following photos:

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From the left, The Remarkables, Cecil Peak and Walter Peak on a beautiful winter evening
Queenstown, Aug 2006


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Another beautiful winter scene
On the extreme left, the headlights of a car on Lake Esplanade
Queenstown, Aug 2006


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.... and yet another beautfiul winter scene
The Remarkables run in a North-South direction
and the rays of the setting sun lit up its face "on fire"
Queenstown, Aug 2006

Sofitel Queenstown – 5 Star Attraction

The Sofitel Queenstown is the first five-star hotel in this beautiful resort town. Located in the heart of Queenstown, it opened in the 2nd half of 2005. Within its first year, it has already been named among the top 20 hotels in the world by prestigious Australian travel magazine Gourmet Traveller!

Besides the usual classy offerings we expect of a five-star hotel, the Sofitel Queenstown has another interesting five-star attraction: the men’s toilet!

On the 2nd floor men’s toilet, there are life sized images of models behind the urinals oogling at the men’s manhood with binoculars, camera & tape measure! Talk about men’s insecurity with our “apparatus” and this cheeky wall display has these pretty gals checking out our little “johnny”! Haha!

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Interesting wall feature in the Men's Toilet !
Sofitel Queenstown, Oct 2005
It would be a challenge choosing which urinal to use. Imagine standing in front of the gal with the tape measure and trying to keep a straight face. Fortunately, I was only in the toilet to shoot the above photo else the challenge would be keeping my aim on target in the urinal and you can’t if you are laughing!

When Sofitel Queenstown opened last year, word got around and many people, including the ladies, queued up just to view the men’s toilet. If you are wondering, there isn’t any interesting wall display in the ladies’ toilet. :-( Sofitel Queenstown
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Sofitel Queenstown under construction, May 2005
Besides Sofitel, another five-star hotel chain Hilton will soon operate in Queenstown too. In the years to come, more international visitors will descend on this alpine resort of New Zealand.