Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, Wellington is the capital, and even though Queenstown only has a population of about 20,000 people, nearly 3 million annual tourists are visiting Queenstown because of its reputation as the adventure capital of the world. This reputation began in the 1950s with the invention of the jet boat and was further solidified in the 1980s with the first commercial bungee jump. Today jet boating through shallow rivers is a top activity and so is bungee jumping from the original location of AJ Hacket Bungy at the Kawarau Gorge.
Destination Overview
Visiting Queenstown
Beyond these activities there are countless other popular adrenaline activities to explore when visiting Queenstown, such as sky diving, white water rafting, zip lining and more. All of these activities are set in the gorgeous Southern Alps but today the region has grown well beyond just adrenaline visitors. The Queenstown city itself has become a culinary and tourism hot spot. Only a short drive from town is the Central Otago Wine Region which produces world class pinot noir wine, Arrowtown that provides a glimpse into the gold rush past, and Glenorchy which provides a great starting point for top nature activities. While many international visitors come during the New Zealand summer months (December to February), the area remains popular year round as it turns into a ski town in the winter (June to August).
Given the immense influx of tourists, visiting Queenstown is considered to be very expensive and crowded by Kiwi standards. Relative to even the significantly larger cities of Christchurch and Dunedin, it was immediately clear that it would be a less relaxing experience in Queenstown when we encountered traffic on the drive in. On our first day exploring the city, we started with a nice hike up Queenstown Hill which provided incredible views of the modern town below set next to the beautiful blue Lake Wakatipu surrounded by the Southern Alps. The natural beauty alone made it clear why so many people visit, but then walking into the main town center, we fully grasped the scale of visitors. Many popular restaurants had significant lines and cars were parked as far as you could see out of the city due to no in-town parking spot availability. While this was a stark contrast to the tranquility of Te Anau, we were still excited to get outside of Queenstown to experience great hiking, visit some Lord of the Rings filming sites, see the neighboring towns, sample world class pinot noir, and maybe even experience an adventure activity.
Where to Read More
How to Make the Most of a Road Trip Between Queenstown and Christchurch
A multi-day itinerary and guide of the different things to do between Queenstown and Christchurch, including in Wanaka, Mount Cook, and Lake Tekapo.
A Concise 3-Day Itinerary to See the Queenstown Highlights
An itinerary that highlights the top things to do in Queenstown including the landscapes, adventure activities, opportunities to relax, and more.
An Interesting Fact
Queenstown Is More Than the Adventure Capital of the World
While we were not initially attracted to the more extreme adrenaline activities, we still were eager to see first hand why Queenstown earned the reputation as the Adventure Capital of the World. This meant that we would need to do at least one adventure activity, and we ultimately chose to do jet boating, given it was one of the catalysts to the area earning its nickname. There are numerous jet boat companies to choose from, but we selected Shotover Jet which advertised itself as the best jet boat ride due to its exclusive location through the Shotover Canyons on the Shotover River. We had an early morning ride scheduled and after getting our life vests we witnessed our first jet boat live on their safety test run. It was incredible seeing the speed of the boat navigating through such shallow water and the seamless way that it executed 360 degree spins. Knowing that the boats could reach speeds of up to 85 kph (50 mph) and operate in water as shallow as 10 cm (4 inches) it was a little nerve racking.
Our captain was a Kiwi that grew up in the South Island and had spent his life driving jet boats for fun so it gave us a lot of reassurance. While the ride only lasted for about 25 minutes, it was so much fun flying through the Shotover Canyon so close that it felt like you could reach out to touch the walls. The way the boat was built made it constantly felt like it would hit the rocks below, but it never did. A highlight of the ride was the 360 degree spins, which felt like a roller coaster ride. We loved the experience and decided to also visit the nearby AJ Hacket Bungy location to see the second of the two founding adventure activities of Queenstown. While we had no intention to take the plunge, it was fun to watch as a few people jumped towards the river below. Both experiences confirmed why Queenstown earned its nickname.
However, visiting Queenstown also showed us that the town is more than just the Adventure Capital of the World. As with much of the South Island, incredible hikes were not too far away. We drove up to Glenorchy, a small settlement less than an hour away so that we could do a day hike on the Routeburn Track. This was one of the 11 Great Walks of New Zealand, and since we had hiked on the other end of the trail in Fiordland National Park thought it would be fun to hike from the other side.
On the drive up to the trailhead we passed by a few Lord of the Rings filming sites and upon stopping were joined by a handful of tour groups explaining the exact scenes. In the picturesque town of Glenorchy, Mrs Woolly’s General Store was a great place to stop for delicious breakfast and to browse their numerous souvenirs, such as an official Lord of the Rings filming site book. We purchased the book so that we had more context when visiting future sites and could be our own tour guides. The Routeburn hike to the Routeburn Flats hike wasn’t too strenuous but ended in a gorgeous area for a picnic lunch. The Southern Alps were all around and a tranquil river passed through the grassy flats. Some people were spending a few days at the hut and many others were continuing on the 3 day journey to the trail end. We were happy to have done the day hike and went back to Queenstown for a relaxing walk through the Queenstown Gardens before watching a perfect sunset at the Queenstown Beach. Overall the diversity of activities on this day alone showed us that there is plenty more to do beyond just adventure activities in Queenstown.
Useful Gear
Plan Experiences Off Peak Hours if Visiting Queenstown in High Season
In New Zealand, the pace of life doesn’t require everything to be planned out or scheduled in advance. However, given the massive amounts of tourists that are visiting Queenstown in the summer, it can be difficult to find availability for the most popular activities because people book far in advance for their vacations. At first we were worried we might not be able to do some of the activities high on our list, but we soon realized that having flexibility to do things at random times throughout the day allowed us to seamlessly do everything that we wanted throughout our trip.
The first time we encountered the availability issue was when going to eat at Fergburger, a hamburger restaurant that has grabbed media attention for potentially being the best burger place in the world. Every time we went by the restaurant, there was a line down the block, with people saying they waited well over an hour for their burger. However, everywhere we looked people had Fergburger bags around town so we really wanted to go as long as we didn’t have to wait. Online blogs said to call for carryout but throughout our visit the phone line said carryout wasn’t available. We decided to come back late at night to try one last time and while there was still a small line, in total it only took 10 minutes for the food. The burger was definitely delicious, and while it is tough to say that it is the top in the world, it is one I would for sure go back to eat again.
There were other times that we utilized off peak hours to book experiences that we might have otherwise missed out on. One such experience was the Onsen Hot Pools & Spa which offer luxury hot tubs overlooking a serene mountain valley below. It was booked at all times almost every day we were visiting Queenstown, but we were able to reserve the last slot at 9:15pm on our final night. It ended up being a wonderful experience because it was still light out when we started but finished in the dark, offering two totally different settings. Another experience we had to book at a random hour was when we went to lunch at the Mt Difficulty Winery in the Central Otago region. The only time they had available was at 3:30pm which wasn’t ideal for lunch or for dinner. Yet for us, it was a perfect opportunity to try out their top tier pinot noir wines and split an exquisite New Zealand meal while taking in the stunning views of the wineries below.
