'Queenstown' is a
resort town in
Otago in the south-west of
New Zealand's
South Island. It is built around an inlet on
Lake Wakatipu, a long thin lake shaped like a staggered lightning bolt, and has spectactular views of nearby mountains.
There are various apocryphal accounts of how the town was named, the most popular suggesting that a local gold digger exclaimed that the town was "fit for
Queen Victoria". It is sometimes disparagaingly referred to as "Vegas by the Lake" for a perceived fixation on commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. It is popular with young international and New Zealand travellers alike.
The town is the largest centre in
Central Otago, but for some administrative purposes it is considered part of
Southland. According to the 2001
census, the usually resident population of the Queenstown urban area (including
Frankton and Kelvin Heights) is 8535, an increase of 19.3% since 1996.
Its neighbouring towns and districts include
Arrowtown,
Wanaka,
Alexandra, and
Cromwell. The nearest cities are
Dunedin and
Invercargill.
Tourism
A resort town, Queenstown is a centre for
adventure tourism.
Skiing,
jet boating,
bungy jumping,
mountain biking and
tramping are all strong promotional themes.
Along with
Mount Ruapehu, Queenstown is a major centre for snow sports in New Zealand, with people from all over the country and many parts of the world travelling to ski at the four main mountain skifields (
Cardrona Alpine Resort,
Coronet Peak,
The Remarkables and
Treble Cone).
In recent years Queenstown's hostels have become a popular destination for young Australian and American tourists. Queenstown provides adventure tourism during the day and a vibrant nightlife scene during the evenings.
Locally, Queenstown has a reputation as one of New Zealand's wine and cuisine centres. Neighbouring, historic Arrowtown features excellent restaurants and bars, and Queenstown lies close to the centre of a small
wine producing region, reputed to be the world's southernmost. Pinot noir produced in this area fetches premium prices.
Queenstown Airport
has scheduled flights to
Auckland,
Christchurch and
Sydney year-round and
Wellington,
Melbourne and
Brisbane seasonally.
Queenstown and the surrounding area contain many locations used in the filming of the
''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy.
Highlights
★ Lake Wakatipu -
TSS Earnslaw,
Kingston Flyer
★ Adventure Tourism, jetboats,
bungy jump, skiing, river surfing, sky diving,
mountain biking, paragliding
★ A round of golf at
Millbrook Resort - 150-year-old wheat farm, now a luxury resort.
★
Cricket (new One Day International venue) and
Golf
★ Queenstown Airport at
Frankton
★ Skyline
Gondola and
luge
★ Winter festival
★ Goldmining, Arrowtown, Central Otago history, sheep farming and
Walter Peak station.
★ Southern Lakes District &
Milford Sound/
Homer Tunnel
★
Glenorchy &
Routeburn track
Gallery
Panorama of the view from the Remarkables towards Queenstown Airport, with Queenstown beyond.
★
Queenstown.com Photo Galleries
Transport
Queenstown Airport was upgraded in the 1990s to handle jet aircraft, including international flights from
Australia. Due to sustained heavy growth, further terminal expansion was undertaken in 2005 and 2006, with more construction currently ongoing. The airport is serviced by regular domestic services from
Auckland,
Wellington and
Christchurch.
Air New Zealand and
Qantas also operate regular international services from
Melbourne and
Sydney, the frequency being much increased over the ski season. Queenstown airport is
New Zealand's busiest
helicopter base, and is also heavily utilised for tourist 'flightseeing', especially to
Milford Sound and
Mount Cook, using both fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
The primary road access to the Queenstown area is via
State Highway 6 (SH6), which travels from Cromwell through the Kawarau Gorge to Frankton, where a 9-km spur (SH6A) leads to the CBD and connects with the Glenorchy Road. SH6 continues south, crossing the Kawarau river before heading down the eastern side of Lake Wakatipu to
Kingston before emerging on the plains of Southland. A difficult road over the
Crown Range leads to Cardrona skifield and Wanaka, and is New Zealand's highest paved public road.
Queenstown is the departure point for a large number of day trips to
Milford Sound. Due to the ardurous nature of the very popular trip (12 hours return), various measures have been proposed to cut the trip time, including a monorail and a new tunnel through the mountains.
:''See also:
Transport to Milford Sound''
References
★
The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names, , A. W., Reed, Reed Books, 2002, ISBN 0-7900-0761-4
External links
★
Queenstown Lakes District Council
★
Chamber of Commerce
★
Queenstown Airport official site
★
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