Queenstown, in the South Island’s Otago region, is New Zealand’s tourism capital. Its beautiful setting on the shore of Lake Wakatipu belies its reputation for adventure tourism.
Queenstown is above all a ski town, and hosts the Winter Festival every year. It’s an easy distance from Coronet Peak, Treble Cone, The Remarkables, and Cardrona ski fields. There are facilities for snowboarding and cross-country skiing as well as the more traditional down-hill.
All year round, however, Queenstown offers bungy jumping, and jet boating and white-water rafting on the Shotover River.
At a slower pace, the TSS Earnslaw is a steamship nearly a century old that cruises Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown every day. Or you can visit the Kiwi Birdlife Park, and the sea-lion and penguin colonies of the Catlins.
Tours will take you through the area around Queenstown to visit several locations used in filming The Lord of the Rings movies. Or you can cycle the increasingly popular Otago Rail Trail.
