The journey from the airport to the centre of Queenstown turns out to be a short one. The taxi driver chats away to me as we speed along, but I can barely muster up more than a few words of response because I’m so bowled over by what I can see through the windows. I have never seen mountains so large, or skies so vast. Trees and shrubs look greener here than those in England, the earth beneath them appears somehow richer, and there is a clarity to it all, as if Mother Nature herself has applied a filter to the landscape.

As we join the main highway, I glimpse a rapidly tumbling river far below the road, and high above it, a precarious-looking wooden structure that can only – shudder – be a bungee-jumping platform.

‘There she is,’ the driver announces, not without pride.

An enormous expanse of water has just come into view in the middle distance.

‘That’s Lake Wakatipu,’ he informs me. ‘People around here will tell you that she’s the largest lake here on the South Island, but it’s not – Te Anau is the queen.’

‘Oh,’ I say, and the man nods.

‘Of course,’ he continues, ‘Lake Taupo is the real beast, up in the North Island – you could fit Singapore inside her.’

‘Blimey,’ I reply, trying and failing to envisage this. The driver smiles assuredly at me in the rear-view mirror.

Queenstown itself sits sprawled between Lake Wakatipu and the vast hills that overlook it, and I know already from my limited foray into the guide book that it’s regarded as New Zealand’s main party town, and that during the winter season, the area transforms into a bustling ski resort. Beyond that, however, I don’t know very much about my home for the next two weeks, and while my desire to explore has never been that great, I’m nonetheless intrigued to have a poke around and acquaint myself with the place.

My rental apartment is situated on a steep road not far from the main hub of the town, and after collecting my key from a central reception area, I pop inside just long enough to dump Anna’s backpack on the floor, text David and Hayley to let them know that I’ve arrived safely, and then have a quick shower and change into a simple black sundress. The loneliness that crept over me at the airport continues to linger like an unwanted house guest, and I don’t waste any extra time bothering with make-up.