Invercargill to Queenstown Bus

It’s funny how every cloud has a silver lining. I suppose not all people would see an involuntary 3hr bus ride as a silver lining, but I guess it’s all how you look at it.

As Qantas are normally cheaper than Air NZ with domestic travel in New Zealand I booked ahead and expected to get to Queenstown from Auckland a mere 15mins after my girlfriend who had traveled on the Air NZ flight from Auckland.

Queenstown is renowned for having its airport close often due to fog and snow. As luck would (or wouldn’t) have it, Air New Zealand have recently upgraded their GPS systems to enable them to fly into Queenstown Airport if conditions aren’t great.

Qantas have not upgraded their GPS.

On this day, Queenstown had a thick layer of low cloud and my Qantas flight couldn’t land so my flight was diverted to Invercargill - a quick 10min plane journey past Queenstown, but a tidy 3hr bus ride back to Queenstown if the airport’s closed.

Here’s a little photo essay of my time on the bus. It’s a very beautiful, dark part of New Zealand. Enjoy.