Carrying on our series of a winter’s week in Queenstown with three little kids I thought I’d start by sharing some useful tips …

Accommodation: We stayed in a two-bedroom apartments at the Blue Peak Apartments just a two-minute walk from the heart of Queenstown. The staff were very friendly, there was free unlimited WIFI and best of all somewhere to park your car for free! It had brilliant cooking facilities which saved us a lot of money instead of eating out every day.

For hire: Fortunately, you can hire carseats, strollers, portacots, and toys for the time you're in Queenstown through Tots on Tour. Not only do they have a fantastic selection of toys and deliver to your accommodation, but you'll also be pleased to know the owner Wendy is also a midwife so if the unexpected happens, you know who to call! 

Babysitting: If you're hoping for a night out for dinner but don't have a babysitter you can organise one through Around the Clock Childcare 

Tuesday was wet … very wet! We were supposed to check out SITE Tramploine Park  where they have a mini-bouncers session every Tuesday and Friday morning for kids aged 5 and under. Unfortunately we didn’t get our A into G quickly enough so instead we visited the very cute Queenstown Library for their Wriggle & Rhyme session. If you have young kids and are looking for something cheap to do on a rainy morning in any town or city in NZ, I highly recommend joining in one of these free sessions. Lots of singing, dancing, stories, bubbles and puzzles, it was an easy way to entertain the kids for the morning. 

We treated the kids to a nice healthy lunch of ice-cream. Not ideal for a cold, winter’s day in the middle of a downpour, you may think. But I challenge anyone to say no to anything from Patagonia Chocolate, whatever the time of day or weather outside!