Queenstown and Wanaka
The world's adrenaline capital and its laid-back little sister, set on two implausibly blue lakes: the beating — and busiest — heart of the South Island.
Suggested stay — 3 nights (split between the two lakes)
Queenstown invented commercial bungy jumping (Kawarau Bridge, 1988 — people still jump there) and never stopped upping the ante: jetboats through the Shotover gorges, paragliding over Lake Wakatipu, summer luge, winter skiing. But the real gem is free: the Glenorchy road, 45 minutes of corniche shoreline to the head of the lake and the Lord of the Rings backdrops — one of the country's finest short drives, best saved for late in the day.
Wanaka, an hour away over the Crown Range (the country's highest sealed road, 1,076 m, superb and freezing), plays the same geography without the frenzy: a lake, a photogenic tree standing in the water (That Wanaka Tree, an Instagram star despite itself) and Roys Peak — 16 km and 1,200 m of climb for THE emblematic view over the lake and the Alps. Gibbston and Central Otago vineyards as a bonus: the world's southernmost pinot noirs are tasted between hikes.
Don't miss
- The Glenorchy road in late afternoon, when the Wakatipu catches the low light
- Roys Peak with a pre-dawn start for sunrise (count 5-6 h return)
- The Kawarau Bridge bungy — to do or to watch, the show is free
- A Gibbston Valley estate or two: pinot noir, cheese and the Kawarau cliffs
Our tips on the ground
- Queenstown is the strictest town in the country on freedom camping: systematic fines in the centre — head for the DOC campsites at Moke Lake or along the Glenorchy road, ten times more beautiful anyway.
- Roys Peak closes from 1 October to 10 November (lambing): check the dates, and set off by headlamp at 4 am in summer — for the light AND to skip the queue at the photo spot.
- The Crown Range ices over and requires chains in winter: in snow, take the Kawarau Gorge (SH6) instead — longer but always open.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“New Zealand on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Queenstown and Wanaka
Queenstown or Wanaka as a base?
Wanaka in a van, no hesitation: calmer, better set up for camping, equidistant from Mount Aspiring and the Crown Range. Queenstown is a day visit — activities, restaurants (the Fergburger cult checks out), the Glenorchy road — but parking and sleeping a van there in summer is a combat sport.
Are the adrenaline activities worth their prices?
They are expensive (bungy €150-200, jetboat €90-120) but executed to world-reference professionalism: the industry's safety standards were written here. Pick ONE that genuinely scares you rather than three middling ones — and know that Roys Peak, free of charge, remains the best rush in the area.