Queenstown sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu at 310 m, hemmed in by the Remarkables, a range so straight-edged it looks drawn with a ruler. The town has about 16,000 permanent residents and receives several million visitors a year, which explains both its energy and its prices.
Bungy and adrenaline
AJ Hackett opened the world first commercial bungy operation at the Kawarau Bridge, 43 m, in 1988. The Nevis, 134 m from a cable car strung across a canyon, is the highest in the country. The Shotover Jet runs jet boats through the narrow Shotover canyons at close quarters to the rock, and there is skydiving, canyon swinging, white-water rafting and paragliding from Bob Peak. None of it is cheap: expect NZD 200 to 600 depending on the activity.
Lake Wakatipu
The lake is 80 km long, shaped like a lightning bolt, and 380 m deep — its floor lies below sea level. Its water level rises and falls about 12 cm every 25 minutes, a standing wave the Maori explain as the heartbeat of the giant Matau sleeping beneath. The TSS Earnslaw, a coal-fired steamship launched in 1912, still crosses to Walter Peak station daily and is worth the trip for the engine room alone.
Skyline and the trails
The gondola climbs Bob Peak for the classic view over town, lake and the Remarkables, with a luge track, mountain-bike trails and a restaurant at the top. Below, the Queenstown Hill and Ben Lomond walks give the same view for free and rather more effort — Ben Lomond takes six to eight hours return.
Wine
Central Otago is the southernmost wine region in the world and produces some of the best pinot noir outside Burgundy. The subregions of Gibbston, Bannockburn, Bendigo and Cromwell are all within an hour, and many cellar doors are open daily without booking. Gibbston is closest and can be cycled from town on the Queenstown Trail.
Arrowtown
Twenty minutes away, Arrowtown preserves a gold-rush main street from the 1860s and the remains of a Chinese miners settlement, a sobering reminder of how those workers were treated. In late April the avenues of poplars and larches turn gold and the town holds its autumn festival.
Winter
Four ski fields lie within an hour: Coronet Peak, the Remarkables, Cardrona and Treble Cone. The season runs from June to early October. Queenstown is the only town in New Zealand that is genuinely busier in winter than in spring.
Practicalities
The airport handles direct flights from Australia and all major New Zealand cities, and the approach between the mountains is memorable. Accommodation is expensive year round; Frankton, five minutes away, is cheaper. Book activities a day or two ahead in summer.