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Queenstown, New Zealand, top 10 things to do (Wimup travel guide)
▶ Video · Queenstown Adventure
Video guide · 10:37
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Top 10OceaniaNew Zealand

Top 10 Things To Do in Queenstown

Country
New Zealand
Best months
Feb · Mar · Jul
Population
~27,700
Language
English
Budget / day
$150–320
Quick answer

Queenstown is wedged between a glacial lake and the Remarkables, and it is built around one idea: get people onto the mountains and the water fast. Ride the gondola for the view that explains the geography, jump or watch where commercial bungy started in 1988, cross the lake on a 1912 coal-fired steamer, and give a full day to Milford Sound.

Queenstown Adventure

▶ Video guide Open the film page (10:37) →

Nothing here is far. The airport is eight kilometres from the centre, the first ski field is a 25 minute drive, and the road to Glenorchy runs 45 kilometres along the lake without a dull corner. That compression is what makes Queenstown work on a short trip, and why it is busy year round.

The 10 best things to do in Queenstown

Ride the Skyline Gondola to Bob’s Peak, Queenstown, New Zealand
1

Ride the Skyline Gondola to Bob’s Peak

Viewpoint· 53 Brecon Street, Queenstown 9300

Running since 1967 and still the steepest cable car lift in the Southern Hemisphere, climbing 450 metres in four minutes. The view is the reason to start a trip here rather than end it: the whole shape of the lake and the town finally makes sense. The terrace is also a trailhead.

Time1 to 3 hours
CostGondola ticket
Best atThe hour before sunset
TipWalk up the Tiki Trail and buy a downhill-only ride if you want the climb
Map↗ Website
Jump the Kawarau Bridge, where commercial bungy began, Queenstown, New Zealand
2

Jump the Kawarau Bridge, where commercial bungy began

Adventure· Kawarau Bungy Centre, State Highway 6, Gibbston

AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch opened the world's first commercial bungy here in 1988, on an 1880s bridge 43 metres above the river. If you are not jumping, the viewing deck costs nothing and is worth the drive, because watching strangers argue with themselves on the edge is half the experience.

Time2 hours with the drive
CostPaid jump, free to watch
Best atLate morning
TipChard Farm and Gibbston Valley cellar doors are minutes away, so pair them
Map↗ Website
Cross the lake to Walter Peak on the TSS Earnslaw, Queenstown, New Zealand
3

Cross the lake to Walter Peak on the TSS Earnslaw

Lake· Steamer Wharf, Beach Street, Queenstown

Launched in 1912, built in Dunedin, dismantled, railed to the foot of the lake and reassembled there. Coal fired, and the last of her kind still working in the Southern Hemisphere. You can stand at the rail above the stokehold and watch the coal go in.

Time1.5 hours return
CostCruise ticket
Best atThe last afternoon sailing
TipSit on the open top deck outbound and inside on the way back, once it cools
Map↗ Website
4

Climb Ben Lomond

Hike· Track start on the Tiki Trail, behind Brecon Street, Queenstown

The best day on foot here, and a serious one: 1748 metres and six to eight hours return, or three to four to the saddle, which is where most people sensibly stop. Above the saddle the track is unmaintained and finishes as a scramble on loose rock. May to November it is avalanche terrain.

Time6 to 8 hours return
CostFree
Best atStart at first light
TipTake the gondola up and the Tiki Trail down to save an hour and your knees
Map↗ Website
Give a whole day to Milford Sound, Queenstown, New Zealand
5

Give a whole day to Milford Sound

Day trip· Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, Fiordland National Park

288 kilometres each way and just over four hours' driving, which makes this a twelve hour day however you cut it. The drive is a large part of the point. Rain is normal in Fiordland and rain is when the temporary waterfalls appear down every wall, so a wet forecast is not a reason to cancel.

Time12 hours by road
CostCoach and cruise package
Best atThe first cruise of the morning
TipFill the tank in Te Anau. There is no fuel on the Milford Road
Map↗ Website
Ski Coronet Peak or The Remarkables, Queenstown, New Zealand
6

Ski Coronet Peak or The Remarkables

Snow· Coronet Peak Road, Arthurs Point, and Remarkables Ski Area Road, Frankton

Two ski fields within half an hour of the main street, and they are different mountains. Coronet Peak is lower, with wide groomed runs and night skiing, which is the closest thing in the country to skiing over a lit-up town. The Remarkables is higher, holds its snow better, and has the friendlier beginner terrain.

TimeA full day
CostLift pass
Best atAugust, for the deepest base
TipSki-field shuttles leave from town and save you the chains and the car park
Map↗ Website
7

Take the Shotover Jet through the canyons

Adventure· 3 Arthurs Point Road, Arthurs Point, Queenstown 9371

The only operator licensed to run the narrow canyon section of the Shotover, which is what separates it from every other jet boat ride in the country. The boats run within a couple of metres of the rock and stop dead into 360 degree spins. Twenty-five minutes, year round.

Time1.5 hours with the shuttle
CostPaid ride
Best atAny time
TipOnsen Hot Pools is a few hundred metres up the same road
Map↗ Website
8

Drink Central Otago pinot noir in Gibbston

Wine· Gibbston Valley, State Highway 6, east of Queenstown

The highest and coolest corner of Central Otago, and where the region's reputation for pinot noir started. Gibbston Valley holds the largest wine cave in the country; Kinross pours several small producers under one roof; Amisfield is the one to book for the long lunch. A flat trail links several cellar doors.

TimeHalf a day
CostTasting fees
Best atMarch and April
TipBike or take a tour. The road is State Highway 6 and the limits are enforced
Map↗ Website
Walk Arrowtown and the Chinese Settlement, Queenstown, New Zealand
9

Walk Arrowtown and the Chinese Settlement

History· Buckingham Street, Arrowtown

Gold was found in the Arrow River in 1862, and the river earned a reputation as the richest of its size in the world. Arrowtown is what the rush left behind. Ten minutes downstream is the restored Chinese Settlement, where Chinese miners were pushed to live at the edge of the town they helped build.

TimeHalf a day
CostFree to walk
Best atMid-April
TipPark at the far end of Buckingham Street and walk back in
Map↗ Website↗ Lakes District Museum
Drive the Glenorchy road to Paradise, Queenstown, New Zealand
10

Drive the Glenorchy road to Paradise

Scenic drive· Queenstown-Glenorchy Road, Glenorchy, 45 km northwest

Forty-five kilometres along the western arm of the lake, with the Bennett's Bluff lookout two thirds of the way. Glenorchy is a few streets and a red boatshed, and the trailheads beyond it. Keep going on gravel and you reach Paradise, which is a real place name rather than a marketing one.

Time3 hours return
CostFree, plus fuel
Best atEarly morning
TipThe Routeburn Flats day walk turns this into a proper day out
Map

9 of the 10, mapped

Queenstown · 9 spots
AllAdventureLookoutsFood & wineFree

Queenstown travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Queenstown?+
Four. Day one belongs to the town: the gondola, the Gardens loop and a drink on the wharf. Day two goes east to the Kawarau bridge, Gibbston and Arrowtown, which sit on one loop. Day three is Milford, which cannot be shortened honestly. Day four is the one you choose. Three days works if you drop Milford; two does not.
Is Queenstown better in summer or winter?+
They are different towns. June to September is the ski season, with two fields half an hour away and short cold days. December to March is for long daylight, the lake and the vineyards, and when Ben Lomond is safe without alpine gear. The quiet, cheap windows are late April to May and October to mid-November.
Can you do Milford Sound as a day trip from Queenstown?+
Yes, and most people do. It is 288 kilometres each way, so a coach and cruise package runs about twelve hours door to door. Flying and cruising cuts it to half a day but is weather-dependent. If you would rather not spend a day in a seat, stay in Te Anau and take the first cruise of the morning.
Do you need a car in Queenstown?+
Not for the town, and yes for the best of the region. The centre is walkable in 20 minutes, and the Orbus network covers Frankton, the airport and Arrowtown cheaply. A car pays for itself the moment you want Glenorchy, the Crown Range or a ski field on your own schedule. Parking in the centre is metered.
When should you book, and how expensive is it?+
Budget 150 to 320 US dollars a day for two sharing a mid-range room, eating out once and doing one paid activity. Queenstown has more beds than most New Zealand towns and still sells out, so book July, August and New Year months ahead. Milford cruises and peak lift passes are the other two to lock in.
Adrenaline

Best adrenaline in Queenstown

Ten ways to be talked off an edge, ranked by how far you fall.
Kawarau Bridge BungyGibbston

Kawarau Bridge Bungy

43 m, since 1988

The original, opened in 1988 on an 1880s suspension bridge 43 metres up. Free to watch from the deck, and the jump everything else is measured against.

Map↗ Website
Nevis BungyNevis Valley

Nevis Bungy

134 m, 8.5 second freefall

The tallest bungy in New Zealand at 134 metres, jumped from a pod slung across a valley on a wire. A 4WD bus gets you there.

Map↗ Website
Nevis SwingNevis Valley

Nevis Swing

Solo or tandem

Same valley, different fear. You are winched out over the river and released into a long arc rather than dropped, solo or in tandem.

Map↗ Website
Bob’s Peak

The Ledge Bungy and Swing

On Bob’s Peak, night jumps in winter

At the top of the gondola on Bob’s Peak, so you jump with the town and the lake underneath you. It runs after dark in winter, which is a different proposition entirely.

Map↗ Website
Arthurs Point

Shotover Jet

The canyons, 25 minutes

The only boats licensed to run the narrow canyon section, a couple of metres off the rock at full speed, with 360 degree spins. Year round.

Map↗ Website
Arthurs Point

Shotover Canyon Swing

Cliff jump, many release styles

A cliff jump into a swing above the Shotover canyon, with a list of increasingly undignified release styles to choose from. The staff are the entertainment.

Map
Town centre

KJet

Leaves from Queenstown Bay

Jet boating from Queenstown Bay itself rather than a shuttle out of town, running the Kawarau and lower Shotover. The convenient one if you are short on time.

Map
Frankton

NZONE Skydive

Tandem, over the basin

Tandem jumps over the Wakatipu basin from altitudes that decide how long the freefall lasts. Clear winter mornings give the sharpest view of the Remarkables.

Map
Bob’s Peak

Ziptrek Ecotours

Down Bob’s Peak from the gondola

Ziplines strung down the forest on Bob’s Peak, reached by the gondola, with a conservation story attached and a final line steep enough to count.

Map↗ Website
Skippers Canyon

Rafting the Shotover

Grade 3 to 4, the Oxenbridge Tunnel

Grade 3 to 4 water through the canyon, finishing through a hand-dug gold-era tunnel that spits rafts out the far side. Wetsuits are needed.

Map
On foot

Best hikes & lookouts in Queenstown

From a 20 minute lookout to an eight hour summit, all of them starting near town.
Bob’s Peak

Ben Lomond Track

1748 m, 6 to 8 hours return

The summit walk, 1748 metres and six to eight hours return. Unmaintained and exposed above the saddle, and avalanche terrain in winter.

Map↗ Website
Queenstown Hill

Queenstown Hill Time Walk

Two to three hours return

The short one with the big return: a steady climb through pines to the Basket of Dreams sculpture and a view straight down onto the town and the Frankton Arm.

Map
Brecon Street

Tiki Trail

About an hour up

The walking route under the gondola line to Bob’s Peak, about an hour up through beech forest. Walk up, ride down, and the view costs you a single ticket.

Map
Queenstown GardensTown centre

Queenstown Gardens

Flat loop, disc golf, free

A peninsula of oaks, redwoods and rose beds sticking into the lake, with a disc golf course laid through it and the best flat lakefront loop in town.

Map
Frankton Arm

Frankton Arm Walkway

Flat, one way to Frankton

A flat waterside path from the edge of town to Frankton, useful as a run, a bike ride or a way to reach the airport side without a car.

Map
Lake Hayes

Lake Hayes Loop Track

Level loop, about two hours

A level circuit of a small lake that reflects the Remarkables when the air is still, which is why it appears on so many postcards. Best early.

Map
Glenorchy road

Bob’s Cove Track

Short walk, lime kiln, lookout

A short walk on the Glenorchy road to a bay that turns bright green over the shallows, with an old lime kiln in the bush and a lookout above it.

Map
Moke LakeMoke Lake

Moke Lake

Loop track and DOC campsite

A gravel road out of town ends at a quiet lake ringed by tussock, with a loop track and a campsite. Where people go to escape the town.

Map
Arrowtown

Sawpit Gully Loop

About three hours, from Arrowtown

Arrowtown’s own circuit, climbing out of the town belt into dry tussock hills and back down the gully. Around three hours from Buckingham Street.

Map
Glenorchy

Routeburn Flats day walk

Great Walk section, day return

The first stretch of one of the Great Walks, up to the flats and back: beech forest, a swing bridge and a valley that opens all at once.

Map↗ Website
Where to eat

Best restaurants in Queenstown

Ten kitchens, from a queue on Shotover Street to a vineyard tasting menu.
Shotover Street

Fergburger

Open late, cash-quick queue

The queue outside is the town's landmark. Large burgers, made fast, served until very late, and genuinely good rather than merely famous.

Map
Ballarat Street

Rātā

Modern New Zealand, book ahead

Josh Emett’s restaurant off the mall, built on New Zealand producers and a dining room that looks into a beech grove. The most serious cooking in the centre of town.

Map
Lake Hayes

Amisfield

Vineyard tasting menu

A stone winery building near Lake Hayes where the kitchen decides what you eat. The long lunch that most Queenstown trips end up remembering.

Map
Marine Parade

Botswana Butchery

Steak and game, lakefront

Steak, game and a long wine list in a lakefront villa on Marine Parade. Formal by Queenstown standards, which is not very.

Map
Cow Lane

The Bunker

Small room, open fire, late bar

Up a staircase off Cow Lane, small, dark and warmed by a fire, with a bar that keeps going long after the kitchen stops. Reserve or arrive early.

Map
Frankton Road

Sherwood

Kitchen garden, wood fire

Out on Frankton Road, cooking over wood from its own kitchen garden, with a room built out of recycled timber and a view back over the lake.

Map
Church Street

Yonder

All day, groups

All-day room on Church Street doing breakfast, big plates and drinks with equal seriousness. The default answer when a group cannot agree.

Map
Church Street

Blue Kanu

Pacific and Asian sharing plates

Pacific and Asian sharing plates in a room hung with carvings, which sounds like a theme and works anyway. Reliable for a table of six.

Map
Isle Street

Bespoke Kitchen

Breakfast near the gondola

A glass-walled cafe on Isle Street near the gondola, and the best breakfast within walking distance of the Tiki Trail. Coffee to a city standard.

Map
Steamer Wharf

Public Kitchen & Bar

Small plates, on the water

On Steamer Wharf with the water under the deck, ordering by plate size rather than by course. The easiest good meal on the lakefront.

Map
After dark

Best bars in Queenstown

Ten rooms for the hours between the mountain and the morning.
Steamer Wharf

Little Blackwood

Cocktails, lakefront

Cocktails on Steamer Wharf with the lake a metre away, and a bartender who will build to a brief. The civilised first drink.

Map
Eureka Arcade

Bardeaux

Wine list, stone fireplace

A basement wine bar off the mall with a stone fireplace and a list that runs deep into Central Otago pinot. Small, dark and better in winter.

Map
Steamer Wharf

Atlas Beer Cafe

Taps and a small menu

A tiny room on the wharf with a wall of taps and a short food menu that punches well above its size. Standing room by six.

Map
Shotover Street

Smiths Craft Beer House

New Zealand craft taps

Shotover Street, a long bar of New Zealand taps, and staff who will pour a taster before you commit. The straightforward beer answer.

Map
Beach Street

The Winery

Self-pour tasting machines

Self-pour tasting machines on Beach Street, so you can work through a shelf of Central Otago pinot in 25 millilitre pours without booking a tour.

Map
Marine Parade

Eichardt’s Bar

Historic hotel bar

The bar of an 1860s lakefront hotel, all dark panelling and fire, looking straight out at the water. The one place in town that predates the adventure industry.

Map
Town centre

Below Zero Ice Bar

Everything is ice, parka supplied

A room held below freezing where the bar, the glasses and the seats are ice. A parka comes with the ticket. Novelty, competently done.

Map
Searle Lane

Zephyr

Rock bar, late

A dark rock bar down Searle Lane with a pool table and a jukebox sensibility, and the place the town’s hospitality staff drink after their shifts.

Map
Steamer Wharf

Pub on Wharf

Pub, fires and screens

A proper pub on Steamer Wharf with fireplaces, screens for whatever is on and a beer garden that works in summer. Uncomplicated.

Map
Cow Lane

Rhino’s Ski Shack

Après ski, from mid-afternoon

The après bar on Cow Lane, loud from about four in the afternoon through the ski season and unapologetic about it.

Map
Central Otago pinot

Best wineries in Queenstown

Six cellar doors within half an hour of town, in the sub-region that started the reputation.
Gibbston

Gibbston Valley Winery

First vintage 1987, wine cave

The vineyard that put the sub-region on the map with its first vintage in 1987, and now the largest wine cave in the country.

Map↗ Website
Gibbston

Chard Farm

Founded 1987, cliff road

Founded the same year by Rob and Gerdi Hay, reached by a narrow gravel shelf road above the Kawarau, directly opposite the bungy bridge. Chardonnay as well as pinot.

Map↗ Website
Lake Hayes

Amisfield

Cellar door and bar

The cellar door and bar near Lake Hayes, in stone, with a bar menu if you are not staying for the full kitchen. The closest serious winery to town.

Map
Gibbston

Peregrine

Architectural cellar door

A Gibbston cellar door under one long sweeping roof, which is the most architecturally deliberate building in the valley and worth the stop for that alone.

Map
Gibbston

Kinross

Several small producers, one bar

One cellar door pouring several small Central Otago producers, among them Coal Pit, Hawkshead and Valli. The efficient way to taste across the region in one sitting.

Map
Gibbston

Mt Rosa

Cellar door in a wool shed

A long-established Gibbston vineyard whose cellar door sits in a converted wool shed, quieter than its neighbours and cheaper to taste at.

Map
Winter

Best ski fields in Queenstown

Four mountains, two of them inside half an hour of the main street.
Arthurs Point

Coronet Peak

Closest to town, night skiing

The closest field to town and the oldest of the four, with wide groomed runs, heavy snowmaking and night skiing three nights a week.

Map↗ Website
Frankton

The Remarkables

Higher, beginner terrain, parks

Higher, colder and better for learning, with the sunniest bowls and the terrain parks. Shares a pass with Coronet Peak, and the access road climbs from the Frankton side.

Map
CardronaCardrona Valley

Cardrona

About an hour, freestyle

Over the Crown Range towards Wanaka, about an hour out, with a long season, dependable snowmaking and the strongest freestyle scene in the country.

Map
Wanaka

Treble Cone

Steep terrain, above Lake Wanaka

The big-terrain option above Wanaka, known for long steep faces and a view down the lake that is the best from any chairlift in New Zealand.

Map
Beyond the basin

Best day trips in Queenstown

Ten drives, from 20 minutes to a full day each way.
Milford SoundFiordland

Milford Sound

288 km, 12 hour day

288 kilometres and just over four hours each way, or a short flight. The road through the Eglinton Valley and the Homer Tunnel is half the reason to go.

Map
Glenorchy and ParadiseHead of the lake

Glenorchy and Paradise

45 km, about 45 minutes

45 kilometres along the western arm of the lake to a red boatshed, a dark sky sanctuary and the trailheads for the Routeburn and the Rees-Dart.

Map
ArrowtownArrowtown

Arrowtown

20 minutes, gold-rush town

Twenty minutes for gold-rush cottages, the Lakes District Museum and the restored Chinese Settlement on Bush Creek. Peak season is April, for the colour.

Map↗ Website
WanakaWanaka

Wanaka

Over the Crown Range

Over the Crown Range, the highest sealed road in the country, to a lower-key lake town with its own mountains and considerably fewer jet boats.

Map
Cromwell and BannockburnCentral Otago

Cromwell and Bannockburn

Stone fruit and Bannockburn wine

Forty-five minutes east into the warmest, driest part of Central Otago, for the stone fruit stalls in summer and the Bannockburn wineries year round.

Map
Te AnauSouthland

Te Anau

Two hours, Fiordland gateway

Two hours south, the gateway town for Fiordland and the start of the Kepler Track, with glowworm caves under the lake’s western shore.

Map
Fiordland

Doubtful Sound

Longer and quieter than Milford

The bigger, quieter, wetter fiord, reached by a boat across Lake Manapouri and a bus over Wilmot Pass. A long day or an overnight cruise.

Map
Mount Aspiring

Rob Roy Glacier

Hanging glacier, day walk

Past Wanaka on gravel into the Matukituki Valley, then a track up to a hanging glacier that drops ice while you eat lunch. A full day from Queenstown.

Map↗ Website
Nevis Valley

The Nevis Valley

4WD access, bungy country

A high, empty tussock valley reached on 4WD tracks, home to the bungy and the swing and very little else. Go with an operator unless you know the road.

Map
Central Otago

Clyde and the Rail Trail

Stone village, rail trail

An hour and a half to a stone village on the Clutha and the western end of the Otago Central Rail Trail, which you can ride in sections.

Map
What's on

Festivals & annual events in Queenstown (2026)

Time your trip around the city's biggest dates.
Mar

The Motatapu

An off-road race day over private high-country stations, and the one weekend a year the Motatapu Valley is open to the public.

Apr

Arrowtown Autumn Festival

Five days in the gold-rush town, timed to the week the poplars and larches turn.

Jun

Ski season opening

Coronet Peak and The Remarkables usually open in the second half of June. Passes are cheapest bought before opening weekend.

Mar–Apr

Vintage in Gibbston

Harvest runs through late March and April, and the cellar doors are most interesting while the crush happens behind them.

Aug

The Remarkables Ice and Mixed Festival

An annual meet for alpine climbers in the Remarkables, one of the most accessible multi-pitch winter venues in the country.

Aug

Peak to Peak

A multisport race linking the two ski fields in a single line: ski down The Remarkables, then bike, kayak and run up Coronet Peak.

Aug–Sep

Winter Pride

The largest pride festival in the Southern Hemisphere, over ten days, built around skiing by day and events at night.

Nov

Queenstown Marathon

The largest running event in the South Island, following the Queenstown Trail along the lake and the Kawarau.

Getting around

Queenstown transport & airports

How to arrive and move around the city.
ZQN

Queenstown Airport

At Frankton about 8 kilometres east of the centre. The approach between the mountains is one of the more memorable landings in the country, and why flights here are weather-sensitive.

Map↗ Website
Bus

Orbus buses and the Bee Card

The bus network covers the centre, Frankton, the airport, Arthurs Point and Arrowtown. Pay with a Bee Card, sold online and around town, or cash to the driver.

Map↗ Website
Ferry

The Queenstown ferry

A scheduled passenger ferry crosses the bay between the town pier, Frankton and Kelvin Heights, on the same Bee Card as the buses. The cheapest boat ride on this lake.

Map↗ Website
Road

Driving, shuttles and the roads out

There is no passenger rail to Queenstown. A car earns its keep for Glenorchy, Gibbston and the ski fields, and is close to useless in the centre. In winter, carry chains and check the road status.

Map↗ Website
Traditional food

Must-try dishes in Queenstown, New Zealand

The classics to order before you leave.

Fergburger

Not a dish so much as an institution: a large burger built to order and served until the small hours.

A Fergbaker pie

The bakery beside the burger shop, and the better breakfast. Steak and cheese, eaten on the footpath at seven.

Cheese rolls

A southern South Island staple: white bread rolled around cheese, onion and evaporated milk, then grilled.

Whitebait fritter

Tiny translucent native fish bound with egg and fried, with lemon and white bread.

Bluff oysters

Dredged from Foveaux Strait, in season March to August, and among the best cold-water oysters anywhere.

Green-lipped mussels

Farmed in the Marlborough Sounds and on every menu in town, steamed open with white wine and garlic.

Central Otago venison

Farmed in the valleys around the basin, leaner than European game, served pink with a local pinot noir.

Hokey pokey ice cream

Vanilla shot through with lumps of honeycomb toffee, invented in New Zealand and sold along the lakefront.

Queenstown fact sheet

Queenstown at a glance

The essentials worth knowing before you go.
Country
New Zealand
Region
Otago, in the Queenstown-Lakes District, on the northern shore of Lake Whakatipu
Population
About 27,700 in the Queenstown urban area at June 2024 (Stats NZ), within a district of roughly 52,400
Founded
A gold-rush settlement from 1862, when gold was found in the Arrow and Shotover rivers. The name was chosen at a public meeting in 1863
Nickname
The adventure capital of New Zealand
Language
English, with te reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language also official
Currency
New Zealand dollar (NZD)
Time zone
NZST, UTC+12, moving to NZDT, UTC+13, from late September to early April
Calling code
+64 3
Airports
Queenstown Airport (ZQN) at Frankton, about 8 km east of the centre
Power
230V, 50Hz, Type I plug
Emergency
111 for police, fire and ambulance
Ideal length
4 days
Getting around
Walk the centre, Orbus buses and the ferry beyond it, a rental car for the valleys
Tourism board
Official site

Interesting facts

  • The world's first commercial bungy opened at the Kawarau Bridge in 1988, 43 metres above the river.
  • Lake Whakatipu has a standing wave with a period of about 26.7 minutes, so the water in Queenstown Bay rises and falls all day.
  • The TSS Earnslaw was launched in 1912, built in Dunedin, then railed across the island and rebuilt on the lake shore.
  • The Skyline gondola has run since 1967 and is still the steepest cable car lift in the Southern Hemisphere, climbing 450 metres.
  • Gold was found in the Arrow River in 1862, and it earned a reputation as the richest of its size in the world.

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