Queenstown

Where is it?

Set on the shores of the crystalline Lake Wakatipu with close proximity to the Remarkables mountain range and the Fiordland National Park. Queenstown lies north west of Dunedin and far south of everywhere else. Many visitors choose to fly in especially during deep winter when roads can become difficult.

What's it like?

Buzzing. It would be easy to be cynical about Queenstown, dismiss it as nothing more than an adventure sport theme park full of blokes with bad beards who call everyone dude for whom life is a search for the ever more radical. However, this would be doing the town a gross disservice. The honesty and application that Queenstown brings to extreme activities is impossible to dislike. They work hard so we can play hard. This, set against an alpine backdrop that causes jaws to go slack, as the breath is spirited away, makes it an absolute must for any visitor.

What to see and do.

This is not the place for culture vultures. Queenstown is the original home of the adrenalin junkie. You can bungy jump (this is where the sport first developed) paraglide, skydive, jet boat, white water raft, fly a rocket (suspended by a wire swinging over a canyon) or if this is too mundane ski, snowboard or go hiking in the mountains. No museums, no galleries, just stomach lurching fun. Moreover, wherever you are in the town, you can see those stunning peaks all around you.
Some have complained that Queenstown is growing to quickly with no control but it doesn't feel that way, it is just a friendly place where it is quite ok to go bananas. All the activities can easily be booked from within the pleasant and compact town centre.

Eating, Sleeping and Drinking

The night-time activity reflects what is going on during the day. There are great places to eat and some really lively bars, I can particularly recommend the World Bar for good food and a wild night out.
One of the great things about Queenstown is that it ís an all year round resort. There is a draw back to this in that during the height of the summer or ski seasons places to stay become more difficult to get hold of. Book early and expect to pay higher prices at these times.