5 Things To Do in Queenstown

Queenstown is beautiful. I visited the city in the south island with my family last November--in between spring and summer 2013. The peaks of the Remarkables mountain range still had snow on them and they looked majestic, I wondered how much more in winter.

Queenstown Mall

Queenstown is a quaint city. Small and compact. But don't let its size fool you. There are tons of stuff to do. The city was practically built for tourists. On every corner there are tourist signs to do this or that kind of adventure activity: from white water rafting, mountain biking, tramping (hiking), bungy jumping, sky diving, paragliding, zip-lining, sightseeing, you name it! They say it's the outdoor adventure capital of the world. We stayed in Queenstown for almost a week and it wasn't enough time to do half of the things offered by this city.

Next to the William Gilbert Rees statue. He founded Queenstown.

Anyhoo, I was with family, right, so I couldn't do the stuff that I wanted to do. We had to make sure most of the activities were child-friendly. But that's okay. I still had fun.

1. Ride on the TSS Earnslaw
We rode the TSS Earnslaw Steamship and crossed Lake Wakatipu to enjoy the Queenstown scenery. The boat is 100 years old and but its still in good running condition. There's a bar inside where you can enjoy your favorite drinks. You can also see the steam engine. In the alternative, you can go outside and just enjoy the view. The ride was smooth and pleasant. The 90-minute cruise is NZ$55 per adult. Kids (below 18 years old) are FREE--one of the cool things with NZ!

Ria and Bea feed the little lambs, little lambs, little lambs...

2. Feed Sheep on the Walter Peak Farm Tour
Ria and I chose to take the TSS Earnslaw-Walter Peak Farm Tour bundle. You ride the steamship to cross Lake Wakatipu. Then you disembark at Walter Peak station and take the farm tour. It's a nice way to introduce your children to farm life in New Zealand. My daughter Bea fed some lambs with milk. She also got to feed Red Deer and Scottish Highland cattle.

Afterwards, they staged a dog show--well, sort off. They show us how dogs help the farmers by rounding up sheep to their pens. Ang galing ng mga aso. And then later the tour guide showed us how to shear sheep. It is a dreadful sight. The sheep was screaming and struggling--it was painful to watch. Bea got concerned and I had to explain to her that the sheep was doing okay. The TSS Earnslaw-Walter Peak Farm Tour bundle costs NZ$75 per person. Again, Kids go FREE!

3. Ride the Luge at Skyline Queenstown
My family and I went to Skyline Queenstown on top of Bob's Peak, 450 meters above Queenstown. To get there, you have to ride a gondola (cable car). Round trip ticket costs NZ$27. Kids (5 and below) are FREE!

On top, you can walk around the garden/park and enjoy a breathtaking view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables. Skyline has a restaurant and a bar. They also have a Maori Haka show, but that's too touristy for us. The activity most people do over at Skyline is ride the luge. It's the same kind of go-carts they have over at Sentosa Singapore, but with a much better view. I almost fell because I took my eyes off the road. Ang ganda kasi ng view.

Are you ready, dear?

4. Paraglide from Coronet Peak
I said we mostly did child-friendly activities, right? Mostly. I mentioned Queenstown is reputably the outdoor adventure capital of the world also, right? So we can't visit it without doing something adventurous. My wife signed up to paraglide from Coronet Peak. We were picked up by the tour operator in the city and driven to Coronet Peak Ski Field. Then everything happened so fast. The paraglider guy set up the chute, attached it on himself and Ria, and then they ran off the cliff! As Ria screamed on her way down, Bea and I rode the van to the drop zone. Ria said she enjoyed it. The standard price for paragliding is NZ$189 with photo CD. I suggest to score for deals on discount websites like BookMe or GrabOne.The tour operator we got also offers hang gliding.

5. Ride a bike along Lake Wakatipu
Another adventure activity popular in Queenstown is mountainbiking. You can bring you own bike, but there are many bike shops in town that rent out all kinds of bikes. I rented a bike with a child seat so Bea could come along. We biked on the trail next to Lake Wakatipu and it was awesome. I got to talk to my daughter about nature, the mountains, the lake, her being a passenger and me being the driver--you know, 4 year old kind of conversation. Great bonding time with the kiddo. I don't exactly remember how much I rented the bike, I think $20 for 3 hours, I'm not sure. Basta, it was reasonable. If you're going to rent a bike on your trip to New Zealand, I suggest to do it in Queenstown. Fantastic views. You won't regret it.

Not on the list because it's not an activity, but still worth mentioning on this entry is taking a visit to Arrowtown. It's a small town, just outside Queenstown, which was the birthplace of the New Zealand gold rush of the 1800s. It's a historic place and authorities tried to preserve its gold rush charm. It actually looks like one of those towns you've seen in Old Western movies like Wyatt Earp. Not really a must-visit, but nice place to go to if you have time to spare.

There are several other things to do in Queenstown that we weren't able to do, which was a bummer. But I guess it just means, it's a reason to go back.