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Few people come to Queenstown to wind down. The self-styled 'adventure capital of the world' is a place where visitors come to throw their inhibitions out the window…and throw themselves out of planes and off mountain tops and bridges.
The region has a cinematic backdrop of mountains and lakes and a smattering of valley towns just as enticing as Queenstown itself. Wanaka may resemble Queenstown – lakeside setting, a fringe of mountains, a lengthy menu of adventures – but it runs at a less frenetic pace. Glenorchy is even more sedate, and yet it's the final stop for many on their way into arguably the finest alpine tramping terrain in NZ. History makes its home in gold-rush Arrowtown, where the main-street facades still hint at past glory. Settle in for dinner and a drink after the crowds disperse – the following day there’ll be plenty more opportunities to dive back into Queenstown’s action-packed whirlwind.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Queenstown & Wanaka.
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Set on its own tongue of land framing Queenstown Bay, this pretty park is the perfect city escape right within the city. Laid out in 1876, it features an 18-'hole' frisbee golf course, a skate park, lawn-bowls club, tennis courts, Queenstown Ice Arena, mature exotic trees (including large sequoias and some fab monkey puzzles by the rotunda) and a rose garden.
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Shaped like a cartoon lightning bolt, Lake Wakatipu is NZ's third-largest lake. It reaches a depth of 372m, meaning the lake bed actually sits below sea level. Five rivers flow into it but only one (the Kawarau) flows out, making it prone to sometimes dramatic floods. The lake can be experienced at any number of speeds: the classic TSS Earnslaw steamboat trip, a spin with KJet, below decks in the Time Tripper, or a shark's-eye view with Hydro Attack.
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Enter past the fence of bras (Bra-drona!) and you'll find the beautiful cellar door of this fledgling single-malt distillery inside a building made of local schist. Have a complimentary sip of the liqueurs, gin and unusual single-malt vodka, or take the 75-minute distillery tour, which leaves on the hour from 10am to 3pm. Its first whisky won't be completely ready until 2025, but it released a three-year-old teaser in 2018 and plans to follow up with a six-year-old in 2021.
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Hop aboard for fantastic views as the gondola squeezes through pine forest to its grandstand location 400m above Queenstown. At the top there's the inevitable cafe, restaurant, souvenir shop and observation deck, as well as the Queenstown Bike Park, Skyline Luge, Ledge Bungy, Ledge Swing, GForce Paragliding and Ziptrek Ecotours. At night there are stargazing tours (including gondola, adult/child $99/54).
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Wānaka Station Park is a piece of Wānaka that existed before Wānaka did. This remnant of the sheep station that once covered the entire south side of the lake is a beautiful, secluded space with a playground and plenty of mature trees. These include giant sequoias, three immense Douglas firs, Himalayan cedars, a large walnut tree, an enormous rhododendron hedge and the station's surviving orchard, with pears and apples that are free for picking.
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Strung along the creek, near the site of Arrowtown's first gold find, is NZ’s best example of an early Chinese settlement. Interpretive signs explain the lives of Chinese miners during and after the gold rush (the last resident died in 1932), while restored huts and the only remaining Chinese store in the southern goldfields make the story more tangible. Subjected to significant racism, the Chinese often had little choice but to rework old tailings rather than seek new claims.
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Mixing Smurfs with Studebakers and skidoos (and an authentic MiG jet fighter flown by the Polish Air Force), this completely eclectic and absorbing collection of more than 60,000 items fills four huge hangars (one mostly filled with vintage fire engines). Suitably, it's as jumbled as a toy box, making it all a bit of a treasure hunt, but it's a nostalgic journey even if you're only young enough to remember as far back as the Sylvanian Families.
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The area's oldest commercial winery (established in the early 1980s) offers tours of the winery ($35) and NZ's largest wine cave ($20). It also has a variety of tastings ($5 to $15), along with a restaurant, a cheesery and bike hire. It even operates its own bus ($35 return) from Queenstown; bookings essential.
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With gold rushes came lawlessness. Arrowtown's prisoners were originally manacled to logs, but in 1876 this schist jail, now surrounded by homes, was constructed. The building was used as a jail as recently as 1987 when two men were held here for drunkenness. The jail is kept locked, but you can grab the key ($10 deposit) from the Lakes District Museum.