Queenstown Holiday
New Zealanders love Queenstown - and, with its plethora of winter and summer activities, along with its high-quality food and wine, it is easy to see why.
Queenstown in New Zealand is a popular resort in both winter and summer, offering a host of summer activities and winter sports for all abilities.
Located on the northern shore of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown covers a large area, but is home to just 8,500 permanent residents.
Discovered by European settlers in the 1850s, the area was deserted, though there was evidence of a previous Maori settlement. Sheep farmers settled by the lake and discovered gold in 1862, causing the region to boom. The gold rush was over by 1900 and Queenstown started to market itself as a tourist destination and later a ski resort.
The South Island key centre for adventure sports, jet boating, bungy jumping, mountain biking, whitewater rafting and hiking all prove immensely popular with tourists, who largely travel to the resort for the array of outdoor activities on offer.
The town also has a new one day international cricket venue, a number of good golf courses and helicopter, balloon and air tours of the region are available.
Between June and August, Queenstown and nearby Mount Ruapehu are popular ski resorts, with the four main mountain snowfields – Cardrona, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Treble Cone – attracting snowsports fans from across the world.
The Skyline Gondola cable car ride provides spectacular views of the surrounding area from the summit of a local hill.
Queenstown has attracted more tourists in recent years after it provided the setting for the Elvish settlement Lothlorien in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy of films.
Shoppers should head for the pretty Downtown shopping area, with its top designers, local boutiques and quirky stores. Key tourist attractions include Underwater World, a local aquarium and observation gallery, pleasant walks and trails, and boat tours of the lake.
Queenstown is famous within New Zealand for the quality of its food and wine, with some excellent restaurants both in the resort and nearby Arrowtown and a number of outdoor eateries. At the centre of a wine producing region, the town's bars and clubs offer some excellent tipples and tours of local vineyards can be arranged.
Dubbed 'Las Vegas by the Lake' because of its busy nightlife, Queenstown has numerous bustling bars and nightclubs Tourists can also attend a the Maori Concert & Hangi, which consists of a traditional Maori show and feast, in the evenings.
Accommodation in Queenstown tends to be friendly and ranges from backpacker hostels and bed and breakfasts to top quality hotels and attractive mountain lodges.
Queenstown is warm in summer, with low rainfall, while winters tend to be crisp and cold. The city is served by Queenstown International Airport and a number of companies offer package trips to the resort.
