Situated in the verdant southwest of the South Island, Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand. It sits on the banks of Lake Wakatipu, one of New Zealand's largest bodies of water, and provides access to the country's best national parks and stunning wine and ski regions.
Like any medium-sized New Zealand town, Queenstown is nice and compact and all shopping areas are readily accessible on foot. Most of the action is downtown, which is charming and nice for ambling about. The shopping here can be quite pricy; a testament of the quality as opposed to taking advantage of tourists.
Queenstown is largely devoid of traditional landmarks and period buildings, with most of the allure coming from the beautiful natural surroundings and the genuine feel of the place. Although not right in the town, Bob's Peak and The Remarkables mountain ranges are musts to gain a perspective over the town.
The ‘Adventure Capital of the World' is all about the outdoors and, more specifically, extreme sports. AJ Hackett set up the world's first bungee jump in Queenstown and the place has continued the theme to also offer whitewater rafting, jet-boating, hiking, mountain biking, and so-called Fly By Wire.
Queenstown is well turned out with an excellent tourist infrastructure and hospitality, good transport options, and some of the most accessible, high quality shopping and dining in the country. It is also a safe town, save the extreme sports, yet reading up on the place for tips on weather and transport will make your stay more rewarding.
Queenstown has a fantastic selection of restaurants for such a small town and every where is virtually within walking distance. There are well over 100 eateries here with choice of food going from the very best New Zealand lamb and seafood, to Pan-Asian cuisine, Middle Eastern snacks, fine French and Italian food, and the best of British.
