Your guide to exploring Queenstown

Queenstown is an outdoor lover’s playground. Located in the lower half of Te Waipounamu – New Zealand’s South Island – it’s hemmed on one side by The Remarkables, an aptly named mountain range, and on another side by the glistening Lake Wakatipu. With the Fiordland and Mount Aspiring National Parks also nearby, Queenstown is an excellent jumping-off point for your next adventure holiday. Of course, whenever you feel like taking things more leisurely, you’ll find the city’s restaurants and vineyards are world-class.

Here's how to spend an unforgettable few days in Queenstown. 

Go adrenaline seeking 

In 1988, AJ Hackett launched the world’s first commercial bungy jump at Kawarau Bridge. Decades later, diving from the iconic rust-colored bridge remains a must-do for daredevils visiting Queenstown. From the bridge, it’s a 43-metre freefall toward the blue ribbon of the Kawarau River below, guaranteeing a rush of pure adrenaline.

Another high-thrills activity spawned locally is jet boating. Bill Hamilton, a South Island sheep farmer, was the first person to develop an early jet boat in the 1950s. The technology he pioneered, enabling boats to skim across shallow waters at high speeds, still motors the arrow-shaped red boats known as Shotover Jets that whistle up and down the Shotover Canyon today. Board one to zip across water as shallow as 10 centimetres, hitting speeds of 85km an hour.

If you’re still hungry for excitement, both the Kawarau and the Shotover Rivers are ripe for white water rafting. Careering down thunderous rapids and through narrow canyon walls is sure to ratchet up your heart rate.

Discover the great outdoors 

Queenstown is one of the last major stops in New Zealand’s South Island before the region gives way to vast tracts of wilderness. 

One of the best ways to take in this natural beauty is with a day trip to Milford Sound – also called Piopiotahi – a fjord carved into the rugged coastline of Fiordland. Getting here is an adventure in itself; it involves driving along a narrow ribbon of highway through rich forest, past mirror-like lakes, and beneath soaring valley peaks. Once you arrive, you can glide across the fjord’s inky dark waters on a boat cruise .

A more accessible day trip is to Glenorchy, just 45 minutes from Queenstown. Glenorchy itself is little more than a village on Lake Wakatipu, but from here you can carry on to the start of the Routeburn Track , one of New Zealand’s ten Great Walks. While the entire trail takes days to complete, you can walk the first section to experience the blue waters and rich beech forests of Mount Aspiring National Park.

Want a more glamorous way to experience the dramatic landscapes around Glenorchy? Take a scenic flight in a helicopter up to Earnslaw Burn, where a hanging glacier and cascading waterfalls decorate the walls of Mount Earnslaw (Pikirakatahi).

Eat, drink, and relax 

The mountains, coastlines, and farmlands of the South Island yield an impressive bounty of wild meat, seafood, stone fruits, and other produce. Queenstown’s restaurants make the most of this regional abundance, serving up the South Island on a plate. 

At The Bunker , an eight-course Taste of the South menu includes seared hare loin from the Bannockburn area, and tortellini made from paua – a native abalone shellfish – harvested from the West Coast. Botswana Butchery serves up tartare made from red deer hunted in Fiordland. Twenty minutes outside of Queenstown, in the small town of Arrowtown, a signature dish of Italian restaurant Aosta is the kina pappardelle, made with an endemic sea urchin. 

If you prefer to taste the terroir in the form of wine, you’ll be pleased to know Queenstown is within a 20-minute drive of at least 75 Central Otago vineyards. The dry, cool-climate region is famous for Pinot Noir, but vineyards also produce dry Rieslings and Pinot Noir rosé. Visit Kinross , a cellar door and bistro, to sample a broad range of wines which includes Kinross’s own vintages, as well as those of five other vineyards in the region.

Road trip from Christchurch to Queenstown 

Flying into Christchurch with Cathay Pacific? Queenstown is a great road trip destination. The roughly six-hour drive traverses the high country, an area of sheep farms, golden grasslands, and turquoise lakes at the feet of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Spread the drive out over three days to enjoy everything there is to see along the way. 

Notable stops include Lake Tekapo, famous for its turquoise water, though the neighbouring Lake Pukaki, with its light blue glacial water, is perhaps even more impressive. On clear days, the shimmering peak of Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain, is visible across the water.

Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park is an easy 45-minute detour from the main route between Christchurch and Queenstown. The highlight here is the Hooker Valley Track , a three-hour hike which leads to a mesmerising view of the mighty Aoraki / Mount Cook, seen across a glacier-fed pool often littered with icebergs.

Finally, there’s Wanaka, a small town on the edge of yet another lake framed by mountains. The hills here are prime hiking country, with Roy’s Peak being the premier spot for sweeping panoramic views of the lakes below.  

From Wanaka, you can either take the road through the Kawarau Gorge and Queenstown’s wine country, or head over the Crown Range, the highest main road in New Zealand, for an unbeatable introduction to the staggering beauty of the Queenstown region.