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Welcome to Part 2 of my Queenstown wrap-up. If you’d like to read about everything we did, ate and loved, you can catch up on Part 1 here.
Now I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I did a stellar job packing for this trip.
Some of you will be pleased to hear that I temporarily abandoned my usual carry-on only philosophy and made solid use of my 20kg checked baggage allowance. If you were hoping for another unnecessarily ambitious winter packing challenge, I’m sorry to disappoint. (Though if you’d like to watch me rise to the occasion and pack for 8 days away in winter using carry-on only, you can watch this video on my YouTube channel)
I still love carry-on-only travel and find it incredibly rewarding. I like front-loading the decision making before a trip, particularly when travelling with our boys. But this wasn’t that trip. This was an anniversary trip. A trip where I wanted options. A trip where I wanted to pack a proper coat without having to perform luggage Tetris.
As a self-proclaimed packing list dork, I spent more time than I’d care to admit planning outfits and ensuring I had the perfect travel capsule before we left. The effort paid off: every single item I packed was worn during the trip (save for my rain jacket, but I like to be prepared). There are few things more satisfying than coming home from a holiday and knowing your suitcase earned its keep.
We travelled during the shoulder season, so while it was cold by Sydney standards, we were still a couple of weeks shy of snow season. Temperatures generally hovered in the low teens during the day before dropping into single digits once the sun disappeared. It also didn’t rain once, which we understand is fairly unusual. The anniversary gods were clearly looking out for us.
Our itinerary was a bit of everything: cycling, hiking, wandering around town and a few nice dinners sprinkled throughout. Which meant packing for a fairly broad range of activities.
When I first started putting together my packing list (yes, I maintain a Google Doc that I periodically add to in the weeks leading up to every trip), it was heavily weighted towards the nice stuff. Beautiful coats. Nice dresses. Fancier shoes. Essentially, I was packing for a trip where all we did was stroll around Queenstown looking chic. Once I took a proper look at our itinerary – cycling, hiking and generally being outdoors for most of the day – I went back and rebalanced things. Pragmatism prevailed.
And this is what made the final cut:
Coats
Sezane mustard coat with scarf (sz AU 8 / US 4)
The Curated navy coat* (sz XS)
Jackets & Vests
Lululemon black jacket (sz US 6 / AU 10)
Patagonia hooded rain jacket (sz S)
Patagonia grey fleece jacket (sz M)
Patagonia technical hooded fleece jacket (sz S)
Patagonia retro pile vest (sz S – I bought this from the mens range)
Tops / thermal layers
Uniqlo HEATTECH turtleneck (sz S)
Uniqlo HEATTECH grey crew neck (sz S)
Uniqlo HEATTECH leggings (sz S)
Macpac thermal layer (sz 6)
Levi’s chambray boyfriend-style shirt (sz M)
Knits
Assembly label red crew neck knit* (sz 8)
Atmos & Here cable knit Jumper* (sz 8)
Pants
Henne jeans (sz 27)
Uniqlo barrel-leg trousers (sz S)
Activewear
Kathmandu pants (sz 8)
Dress
Foemina olive wool blend dress* (sz 8) & Foemina leather belt*
Shoes
Salomon sneakers
Bared combat style boots*
Bared chocolate patent brogue detail heels*
Accessories
Gucci scarf (similar version linked)
Uniqlo lined gloves
Icebreaker merino neck gaiter
Mons Royale beanie
Oliver Peoples sunglasses
Luggage and bags
Bellroy suitcase*
Bellroy backpack*
Saben black handbag*
Bellroy crossbody bag*
Other things
And here are my outfits along with a little context about what we got up to while wearing them:
L: Cycling around Queenstown – Patagonia retro vest (sz S – mens), Atmos & Here Cable Knit Jumper* (sz 8), Levi’s shirt* (sz M), Kathmandu pants (sz 8), Bared combat style boots*, Oliver Peoples sunglasses; R: Skyline Gondola & Luge day – The Curated navy coat* (sz XS), Uniqlo heattech turtleneck charcoal (sz S), Assembly label red knit (sz 8), Uniqlo barrel-leg trousers (sz S), Bared combat style boots*, Mons Royale beanie, Saben black handbag*, Oliver Peoples sunglasses
L: Dinner outfit – Sezane mustard coat (sz AU 8 / US 4), Henne jeans (sz 27), Bared Footwear heels*, Saben black handbag*, Oliver Peoples sunglasses; R: Hiking the Queenstown Hill trail – Macpac thermal layer (sz 6), Patagonia hooded fleece jacket (sz S), Kathmandu pants (sz 8), Salomon sneakers
L: Walking around Queenstown on our first day – Atmos & Here Cable Knit Jumper* (sz 8). Uniqlo barrel-leg trousers (sz S), Bared combat style boots*, Saben black handbag*, Oliver Peoples sunglasses. Gucci scarf (similar here); R: Dinner outfit – Foemina dress* (sz 8), Foemina leather belt*, Uniqlo heattech turtleneck charcoal (sz S), Bared Footwear heels*, Oliver Peoples sunglasses. Saben black handbag*, Sezane mustard coat (sz AU 8 / US 4)
L: Full day of cycling the wineries – Lululemon black jacket (sz US 6 / AU 10), Patagonia technical hooded fleece jacket (sz S), Macpac thermal layer (sz 6), Kathmandu pants (sz 8), Salomon sneakers, Bellroy crossbody bag* Oliver Peoples sunglasses; R: Walking around the Botanic Gardens – Lululemon black jacket (sz US 6 / AU 10), Patagonia fleece jacket (sz M), Uniqlo barrel-leg trousers (sz S), Bared combat style boots*, Bellroy crossbody bag* Oliver Peoples sunglasses
L: Travel outfit for flying into Queenstown – Patagonia fleece jacket (sz M), Uniqlo heattech grey crew neck (sz S), Uniqlo barrel-leg trousers (sz S), Salomon sneakers, Bellroy suitcase*, Bellroy backpack*; R: Full day of cycling the wineries – Lululemon black jacket (sz US 6 / AU 10), Patagonia technical hooded fleece jacket (sz S), Macpac thermal layer (sz 6), Kathmandu pants (sz 8), Salomon sneakers, Bellroy crossbody bag* Oliver Peoples sunglasses; my husband’s outfit – Patagonia jacket (sz M), lululemon pants (sz M), lululemon sneakers, Moscot sunglasses
As always, thanks for stopping by!
P.S. You can read Part 1 of my Queenstown series here where I share everything we got up and what we’d recommend.
