Queenstown

Why Queenstown works

Queenstown sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, a glacially carved lake with an unusual seiche effect that makes its water level rise and fall roughly every 27 minutes, beneath the jagged, near-vertical peaks of the Remarkables mountain range. The town claims the birthplace of commercial bungee jumping, launched at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge in 1988 by AJ Hackett, and remains saturated with adventure operators offering skydiving, jet boating through narrow river canyons, and the Nevis Swing alongside the original bungee site. For less adrenaline-driven visitors, the Skyline Gondola climbs steeply above town to a summit restaurant and luge track with panoramic views over the lake and mountains, while Milford Sound — routinely described as the eighth wonder of the world by Rudyard Kipling — makes a long but spectacular day trip through Fiordland National Park, its sheer cliffs and waterfalls best seen by boat cruise. The surrounding Gibbston Valley and wider Central Otago region has become one of the world's foremost Pinot Noir-producing areas, its cellar doors offering tastings against a backdrop of vine rows and mountains. Queenstown's compact lakefront town centre, walkable in minutes, holds the century-old TSS Earnslaw steamship, still running scenic lake cruises, and a food scene anchored by Fergburger, whose queues have become a minor local institution in their own right.

Trip Snapshot

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