A beautiful old steamship that was really well cared for - shining brass, polished wood. As well as the beauty of the lake, the boat was a great experience. Lots of information boards to help understand the workings and the boiler room on show with the possibility of seeing it up close if you wanted to. Catering was excellent and it was lovely to have a grand piano being played on the way out to the Walter Peake farm. The farm experience was lovely. Enthusiastic, interesting staff demonstrated how they work with their animals and we had opportunities to get close and feed them too. A delightful morning tea was served in a lovely dining room. On the return boat journey, mulled wine was available which was gratefully received as it was a cold day. The piano lady encouraged us all to join in a song a long for the duration of the return. Great fun! I highly recommend this trip. Cath
We went on this tour many years ago and decided we may do it again today. We picked a perfect day to do this. We went on the 12pm tour on the Earnslaw to Walter Peak. I believe it is about $125NZ per person for a return trip on the Earnslaw, a NZ border collie herding the sheep’s and sheep sheering... followed by a beautiful cooked bbq buffet lunch at the old homestead.
Be sure to bring something warm as it can get quite cold if you decide to stay outside, enjoy the scenery. The surrounding mountain view never tires anyone. The gardens around Walter’s Peake High Country Farm is well kept and beautiful. We got to watch how the border collies herd the sheep to a corner and slowly brought them down to where they were meant to be.. simply lovely. Also we were shown how a sheep was shorn.
Lunch at the homestead was beautiful. The different types of roasts were perfectly cooked... lots of salads and veggies to go with the roasts. Also, desserts on offer followed by tea or coffee. Drinks from the bar are extras.
On the way back, a lady played the piano to entertain us. It was a lovely 3 and a half hour trip. Well worth doing on a sunny day, the lunch was definitely worth it.
We came here for dinner last night and were in a group of 90. To say that the experience was fantastic should give an idea of how great this venue is. The staff warm and welcoming and nothing was too much of an ask and kept our glasses topped up.
The food is fantastic, and a wide range from ya good old chook through to venison. I still struggle to pick a favourite meat of the night.
The cheese board options are plentiful, again almost too much to choose from and dessert, while I did not have anything having filled up i was assured that the desserts were equally deserving of praise.
If you get a chance to come here, then you should, on top of the amazing food is the cruise to Walter Peak from Queenstown, all in all a perfect evening.
We booked the Tss Earnslaw. We just did the cruise. It goes out to Walter Peak for lunches/dinners. Regret not doing the lunch. But we are back here next year snd will be taking the whole family for dinner. The cruise was great. Bar/cafe on board. Can move around to have a good look at the boat, you can go the to engine room and see them shovelling coal. Beautiful boat and a great way to spend an hour and half
A wonderful cruise across Lake Wakatipu. Lovely licenced cafe on board and an open engine room gives you exciting views of the stokers at work. Plenty of seating options from the cafe deck, open deck on the bow of the boat to the closed in saloon on the lower level. Toilets on board are acceptable, oh and dont forget the piano sing along on the return journey.
