Things to do in Queenstown

Queenstown sits on the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu, an 80 km lake that holds its water at around 10 degrees all year, with the town centre backed by the Remarkables and served by Queenstown Airport (ZQN), 8 km out.

The district has roughly 48,000 residents, but visitor numbers in January and February push restaurant tables, gondola queues and rental cars to their limit, and this is the most expensive corner of New Zealand in high season, with a coffee, a bungy jump or a lake cruise all priced well above the national average.

Commercial bungy jumping began 25 km away at the Kawarau Bridge in November 1988, and that adrenaline reputation still shapes the town, alongside Central Otago wine from Gibbston, 25 km east, and the Skyline gondola climbing straight up from the centre. Most of the region's big sights, including Milford Sound at 288 km (4 hours) and Glenorchy at 46 km (45 minutes), are day trips out, not walk-to attractions.