World City Guide

Mini Guide of Queenstown

City Overview

Although Queenstown receives over one million tourists a year, it can hardly be described as a city, having just 9,000 permanent inhabitants. Indeed it has grown little since its establishment in the early 1860s as first a pastoral settlement and then a gold rush town. Despite this, its attractions for visitors are immediately evident on arrival – look up to see paragliders descending into the town encircled by a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, look around to see thrill seekers jetting about on the shimmering waters of Lake Wakatipu. Put simply, Queenstown’s main draws are its stunning surroundings and the astoundingly wide selection of adventure sports on offer within them.

The whole south island of New Zealand is blessed with many beautiful landscapes (the main reason why much of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed here), but Queenstown is located in a particularly idyllic spot on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, surrounded by the Remarkables and Eyre mountain ranges. In winter, these mountains make Queenstown a key destination for the world’s skiers and snowboarders, who visit the ski fields by day and take advantage of the town’s many bars and clubs by night.

Although Queenstown has been popular with tourists for over a century, the more recent development of the adventure sports market has produced a real boom. In 1988 the Karawau Bridge, located just outside Queenstown, became the site of the world’s first ever commercial bungee jump, created by the sport’s inventor AJ Hackett. Today, adrenaline junkies flock to Queenstown to take part in the many activities on offer here, and the town continues to pioneer new extreme sports such as jet boating, canyon swinging and river boarding.

Getting There By Air

Queenstown Airport (ZQN)
Tel: (03) 442 3505.
Website: www.queenstownairport.co.nz

Queenstown Airport is located 8km (5 miles) west of Queenstown. Air New Zealand (tel: 0800 737 000; website: www.airnewzealand.co.nz) and Qantas (tel: 0800 808 767; website: www.qantas.com) are the main airlines serving the airport.

Airport facilities: These include a tourist information desk, duty-free shopping, a café and bar, Internet and telephone access, currency exchange, a conference/meeting room and car rental from Avis, Budget, Hertz and Thrifty among others.

Transport to the city: The Super Shuttle (tel: (03) 442 3639) provides a door to door shuttle service, and meets every flight that arrives at the airport. A cheaper option is the Airport Bus, run by Shopper Bus (tel: (03) 442 6647), which runs between the airport and downtown Queenstown during the day. Taxis are also available from outside the arrivals building.

Getting There By Water

Getting There By Road

The main road through Queenstown is Highway 6, which runs from Invercargill on the south coast, through Queenstown, then north via Cromwell, the Haast Pass and the West Coast, right up to Nelson and Blenheim. Highway 89 is a more rugged alternative route north to Wanaka; it may however be impassable for certain vehicles in winter.

Intercity Coach Lines (tel: (09) 623 1503; website: www.intercitycoach.co.nz) run competitively priced services to Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Milford Sound and the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers via Wanaka. Other locally based providers include Atomic Shuttles (tel: (03) 322 8883; website: www.atomictravel.co.nz) and Southern Link Coaches (tel: (03) 358 8355; website: www.southernlinkcoaches.co.nz).

Getting There By Rail

There are no rail services to or from Queenstown.

Getting Around

Public Transport
The only public transport available in Queenstown is the bus service run by Shopper Bus (tel: (03) 442 6647), although Queenstown is small enough that most of the city centre is easily accessible on foot. There are three bus lines, all of which start outside the O’Connell’s Shopping Centre on Camp Street. Route A goes to Fernhill, Route B to Goldfields and Route C to the airport. Tickets should be bought on the bus, and returns are available.

Taxis
The main taxi providers in Queenstown are Alpine Taxi (tel: (03) 442 6666; website: www.alpinetaxis.co.nz) and Queenstown Taxis (tel: (03) 442 7788 or 0800 788 294; website: www.queenstowntaxis.co.nz).

Car Hire
Car rental companies in Queenstown (other than the ones at the airport, see Getting There by Air for those) include Apex (tel: (03) 442 8040; website: www.apexrentals.co.nz), Hertz (tel: (03) 442 4107; website: www.hertz.com), Network Car Rentals (tel: (03) 442 7055; website: www.networkcarrentals.co.nz), Omega Car Rentals (tel: (03) 442 5224; website: www.omegarentals.com) and Queenstown Car Rentals (tel: (03) 442 9220; website: www.queenstowncarrentals.co.nz).

Bicycle Hire
Higher Gear Ltd, Lake Esplanade (tel: (03) 441 4676 or 0800 881 488; website: www.highergear.co.nz) rent out mountain bikes, and Dr Bike at Outside Sports Ltd, Shotover Street (tel: (03) 442 8883; website: www.outsidesports.co.nz) have even tougher off-road bikes.

Business

Sightseeing

Sightseeing Overview
Much of Queenstown’s value as a tourist destination comes from its stunningly beautiful surroundings. Nestled on the shores of the pristine Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by the breathtaking Eyre and Remarkables mountain ranges, Queenstown attracts visitors for the same reasons it attracted the Lord of the Rings film crews. Indeed, an entire industry has sprung up taking visitors on tours of their favourite film locations. Other main sightseeing attractions, such as the Skyline Gondola, the Ben Lomond Summit Track and The Deer Park, make full advantage of their stunning views.

Queenstown is at the centre of New Zealand’s booming adventure sports market, with bungee jumping, skydiving, white water rafting, lugeing, jet boating, paragliding, canyon swinging and river boarding on offer to the brave or foolhardy. In winter skiing and snowboarding are added to this list, thanks to the great ski fields on Coronet Peak and in the Remarkables, and for the ultimate experience, heli-skiing packages are also available.

Tourist Information
Queenstown i-SITE Visitor Centre
Clocktower Building, corner of Camp and Shotover Streets
Tel: (03) 442 4100 or 0800 668 888.
Website: www.i-site.org or www.queenstown-vacation.com

This is the official Tourist Information Centre, but there are numerous other information providers in Queenstown, including the excellent Info & Track, 37 Shotover Street (tel: (03) 442 9708; website: www.infotrack.co.nz).

Passes
There are currently no official passes available, but Queenstown Combos (tel: (03) 442 7318 or 0800 423 836; website: www.combos.co.nz) offers various combination packages including activities such as bungee jumping, jet boating, helicopter flights and white water rafting for reduced combined prices.

Key Attractions

Adventure Sports
Queenstown is unquestionably the adventure sports capital of an extreme sports obsessed nation. An astounding number of extreme sports are on offer here, making the most of the stunning locality. The Karawau and Shotover rivers can be enjoyed whilst white water rafting, jet boating, and even ‘mad dog river boarding’, where the most daring adventurers navigate the rapids with nothing but body boards to hold on to.

For those who want to stay a little drier, the canyons can also be experienced whilst bouncing upside down on a bungee rope. AJ Hackett has four jumps in the Queenstown area, including Nevis, which at 143 metres (440ft) is one of the highest bungee jumpsin the world. For an alternative experience, adrenaline junkies may choose to ‘swing’ rather than jump at AJ Hackett’s The Ledge or the Shotover Canyon Swing to experience a feeling closer to flying than falling.

Shotover Jet
The Station, corner of Camp and Shotover Streets (departure point)
Tel: (03) 442 8570.
Website: www.shotoverjet.co.nz

Queenstown Rafting
35 Shotover Street
Tel: (03) 442 9792.
Website: www.rafting.co.nz

Mad Dog River Boarding
Info & Track, 37 Shotover Street (departure point)
Tel: (03) 442 7797.
Website: www.riverboarding.co.nz

AJ Hackett
The Bungy Centre at The Station, corner of Camp and Shotover Streets
Tel: (03) 442 7100.
Website: www.ajhackett.com

Shotover Canyon Swing
Info & Track, 37 Shotover Street (departure point)
Tel: (03) 442 6990.
Website: www.canyonswing.co.nz

Skyline Gondola, Restaurant & Luge
One of Queenstown’s premier attractions, the Skyline Gondola carries passengers up 450m (almost 1,500 ft) above Queenstown, giving them a superb view of the whole area. At the top there is a high quality restaurant, a luge track, a bungee jump, walking tracks towards Ben Lomond, and the opportunity to paraglide back down to the town.

Top of Brecon Street
Tel: (03) 441 0101.
Website: www.skyline.co.nz

Kiwi Birdlife Park
Although New Zealand has no native mammals, it does have some truly amazing birds, many of which are on show in this wildlife park. Star attractions include kiwi birds and tuatara, members of a unique 200-million-year-old reptile species, which has a primitive ‘third eye’ (a patch of light-sensitive cells) on the top of its head.

Brecon Street
Tel: (03) 442 8059.
Website: www.kiwibird.co.nz

Lake Wakatipu Walks and Trails
A number of excellent walking tracks surround Queenstown, ranging from the tough Ben Lomond Summit Track, which provides spectacular panoramic views, to the easy Frankton Arm Walkway, a walk along the Lake Wakatipu shoreline with great views of the Remarkables. For those feeling a little less energetic, Queenstown Gardens, at the end of Rees Street, is a tranquil space with equally beautiful views.

Department of Conservation Office (DOC), 37 Shotover Street
Tel: (03) 442 7935.
Website: www.doc.govt.nz

Maori Cultural Experiences
The outstanding Haka Pa Maori Village gives visitors a chance to experience New Zealand as it may have been before Europeans arrived. Tourists are welcomed by a terrifying warrior’s challenge, and then treated to a show of traditional skills and music, before being given a sumptuous feast cooked in a Hangi oven. Closer to Queenstown, Kiwi Haka offers some similar experiences.

Haka Pa Maori Village
Waterfall Park, 345 Lake Hayes to Arrowtown Road
Tel: (03) 442 1534.
Website: www.hakapa.com

Kiwi Haka
Top of Skyline Gondola, Restaurant & Luge, Brecon Street
Tel: (03) 441 0101.
Website: www.skyline.co.nz/queenstown/kiwihaka

Further Distractions

Caddyshack City
This amazing mini golf course has 18 incredibly intricate holes, including a volcano, a rollercoaster and a ski lift.

Brecon Street
Tel: (03) 442 6642.

The Deer Park
The Deer Park offers visitors the chance to photograph and feed many species of deer and other introduced animals, including highland cattle, bison and miniature horses, against a backdrop repeatedly used in the Lord of the Rings films.

Peninsula Road
Tel: (03) 442 2949.
Website: www.thedeerpark.co.nz

Tours of the City

A plethora of tour companies provide all manner of ways in which to explore Queenstown and its surrounds. Guided half and full day nature walks in the Wakatipu Basin and Mount Aspiring National Park are run by New Zealand Guided Nature Walks (tel: (03) 442 7126; website: www.nzwalks.com). An innovative way to see the town and lake in 90 minutes is with Queenstown Ducks (tel: (03) 441 2010; website: www.queenstownducks.co.nz) on an amphibious ex-army vehicle that travels by both land and water.

Undoubtedly the best, but unfortunately also the most expensive, way to see Queenstown and the surrounding area is from the air. Trilogy Trail’s (tel: (03) 442 2207; website: www.trilogytrail.com) range of Lord of the Rings location focused tours include some where the main mode of transportation is small Glenorchy Air planes. For those who want to travel in true style, The Helicopter Line (tel: (03) 442 3034; website: www.helicopter.co.nz) offers the chance to see dramatic views of the region’s lakes, mountains and glaciers.

The coal-fired steamer TSS Earnslaw (tel: (03) 249 7416; website: www.realjourneys.co.nz) conducts nostalgic cruises around Lake Wakatipu three times a day.

Excursions

Founded in a 19th-century gold rush, nearby Arrowtown has a fascinating historical legacy, much of which can be explored in the Lakes District Museum and Gallery, 49 Buckingham Street (tel: (03) 442 1824; website: www.museumqueenstown.com). Many restored 19th century buildings remain in the quaint town and tourists can visit the old gaol or travel out to the restored Chinese Miner’s Village. Ways to get to Arrowtown from Queenstown include the Double Decker Bus Tour (tel: (03) 441 4421), which includes a 50 minute stopover in Arrowtown, and the Arrowtown Bus (tel: (03) 442 1900 or 0274 367347; website: www.arrowtownbus.co.nz), which runs regular return services. For more information contact the Arrowtown Promotion & Business Association (website: www.arrowtown.com).

The majestic Milford Sound is just within reach for a long day trip from Queenstown. Here visitors can experience the impressive landscape of cliffs, peaks and waterfalls (created long ago by ancient glaciers) whilst driving along the beautiful alpine Milford Road and cruising on the waters of the fiord itself. Many tour companies run buses out to Milford Sound, but if budget is not a factor, airborne trips are much faster as they avoid the circuitous road around the Remarkables. For further details contact Destination Fiordland (tel: (03) 249 7959; website: www.fiordland.org.nz).

Sport

Shopping

There are an excellent range of small shops in Queenstown, many of which are concentrated on Beach Street and The Mall. BONZ (Best of New Zealand), The Mall (website: www.bonz.com.au) sells high quality leather and merino wool garments, and superb arts and crafts, which are displayed in the gallery upstairs.

Queenstown is a great place to buy all kinds of jewellery, particularly pieces in jade, paua and bone, carved in traditional Maori designs. At The Bead Shop, 66 Stanley Street (website: www.beadshopnz.com), shoppers can design and create their own unique jewellery, with the help of staff if necessary, using the many beautiful beads stocked here.

Queenstown’s main shopping centre is O’Connell’s, corner of Camp and Beach Streets, which has a wide range of shops and a large food court in the basement. A few upmarket shops are also located in the Steamer Wharf complex, off Beach Street.

Queenstown Arts and Crafts Market, every Saturday at Earnslaw Park (website: www.marketplace.net.nz) is a local artisans’ market selling sculptures, pottery, paintings, carvings and much more.

Culture

Although culture is certainly not what Queenstown is famous for, there is always something in the way of music or theatre on offer and the situation improves greatly during the Winter Festival (see Special Events). Just outside the town centre in Frankton, and easily accessible by car or bus, the Queenstown Events Centre, Joe O’Connell Drive (tel: (03) 442 3664; website: www.qtevents.co.nz) holds concerts and sporting events. Queenstown Events also run the other major venue in town, the Queenstown Memorial Hall, on Memorial Street, which stages frequent musical and theatrical performances in its large auditorium.

Embassy Cinemas, 11-14 The Mall (tel: (03) 442 9994; website: www.embassymovies.co.nz) is a small theatre in the town centre which shows all the latest blockbusters. Alternatively, Dorothy Browns, on Buckingham Street in Arrowtown (tel: (03) 442 1968; website: www.dorothybrowns.com) is a classy boutique cinema showing quality mainstream and art house films, where moviegoers leave their spacious seats in the old-fashioned intermission for a glass of excellent local wine at the bar.

Nightlife

Queenstown has some of the best nightlife available in New Zealand, especially when the town fills up in the winter months. For up-to-date details of what is going on, get The Source (website: www.thesourceonline.com), a free weekly entertainment guide.

Bars: A unique experience, Minus 5°, Steamer Wharf (website: www.minus5.co.nz), is a bar entirely made out of ice, including the walls, bar, seats and even the glasses. The World Bar, 27 Shotover Street (website: www.theworldbar.com) has a charged atmosphere, a great mix of music and a fair sized dance floor that is guaranteed to be packed. By contrast, The Bunker on Cow Lane (website: www.thebunker.co.nz) is a small, exclusive, unsignposted bar serving up high quality cocktails.

Clubs: Subculture, 13-14 Church Street, has quality local, national and international DJs every night. Debajo, Cow Lane, is Queenstown’s gay-friendly home of house music, whilst Tardis, also on Cow Lane, has a more hip-hop feel.

Live Music: Red Rock Bar and Café, 48 Camp Street, hosts local live acts and Pog Mahone’s, 14 Rees Street (website: www.pogmahones.com) often has live Irish music. Chico’s Bar & Grill, The Mall, is a wild venue with a live band.

City Statistics

Location: Otago Region, South Island, New Zealand.
Country dialling code: 64 (Otago dialling code is 03).
Time zone: GMT + 12.
Electricity: 240-250 volts AC, 50Hz; flat three-pin plugs are used.
Average January temp: 15ºC (59ºF).
Average July temp: 3ºC (37.4ºF).
Annual rainfall: 913mm (36 inches).

Special Events

Central Otago Wine & Food Festival, early Feb, celebrates and showcases award-winning wineries in the local area
Silverstone Race to the Sky, mid Apr, is a spectacular motorised hill climb race held in the nearby Cardrona valley (website: www.racetothesky.com)
Lindauer Queenstown Winter Festival, early Jul, involves arts workshops, sporting events, comedy, parades, music, theatre and many crazy competitions (website: www.winterfestival.co.nz)
Gay Ski Week, early Sep, is the largest festival of its kind in the Southern hemisphere (website: www.gayskiweeknz.com)
The Remarkables Spring Carnival, late Sep, is a celebration of the start of spring skiing including a raft race on snow (website: www.nzski.com)
Queenstown International Jazz Festival, mid Oct, is a high quality event with over 100 musicians and performers from around the globe (website: www.queenstownjazz.co.nz)

Cost of Living

1 New Zealand Dollar (NZ$1) = £0.39; US$0.69; C$0.80; A$0.91; ¬0.58
Currency conversion rates as of October 2005