Towns

Queenstown is the only place around here that feels like a town in the middle of the day. Everything else is a village, a settlement or a farming district — and that is generally the point of going.

Where to go, and why

• Arrowtown — eighteen kilometres away, with its gold-mining main street intact, the Chinese settlement, the Arrow River walk and the best autumn colour in the district. Half a day, easily.
• Glenorchy — forty-five minutes up the western side of the lake on a road worth driving for its own sake. The head of the lake, the red shed, and the trailheads for the Routeburn and Rees-Dart.
• Gibbston — twenty minutes east through the Kawarau Gorge. Cellar doors, the river trail and the bungy bridge. Take a driver.
• Wanaka — an hour over the Crown Range. The quieter lake town, and the way to Treble Cone and Cardrona.
• Arthurs Point — ten minutes north, where the gold was first found and where Shotover Jet and the hot pools are.
• Mount Creighton — twelve kilometres up the Glenorchy road, and the way in to the Mt Crichton loop and Sam Summers' Hut.
• Frankton — the airport, the supermarkets and the lakeside walkway. Practical rather than pretty.
• Kingston — the southern end of the lake, down the Devils Staircase, with the Kingston Flyer steam train.

Getting between them

Orbus covers Queenstown, Frankton and Arrowtown, and the Orbus page has the routes. Everything else needs a car, a tour or a bike — and the Queenstown Trails network genuinely does link Arrowtown, Gibbston and Frankton, which is a better way to see the countryside than the highway.

The Crown Range road to Wanaka is the highest sealed road in the country and it gets snow and ice in winter. Check conditions and carry chains between June and September.

Where to stay

Most visitors base themselves in Queenstown, but Arrowtown, Glenorchy and Wanaka all have accommodation and all are quieter. See hotels and holiday homes.