Things to do in Kingston

Enjoy 543 acres (220 hectares) of slopes less than an hour’s drive from central Queenstown at the Remarkables. Test yourself at the terrain parks or watch the action from the warmth of a café while sipping a hot chocolate.

The Skyline Gondola has been taking visitors to the crest of Bob's Peak since 1967. Jump on board the steepest cable-car line in the Southern Hemisphere and find yourself whisked up the side of the mountain for the perfect view of Queenstown and the magnificent surrounding landscape. Bob's Peak is also a great place for hiking, mountain biking, and especially paragliding.

Few people ever get to see the notoriously shy kiwi in the wild and the changes in the environment of this flightless bird mean that it is inching ever closer to extinction. However, New Zealand’s national bird, while elusive, is a wholly remarkable creature, which is why many tourists choose to pay the Kiwi Birdlife Park a visit while in Queenstown.

Lake Wakatipu is a lightning bolt-shaped lake set in the shadow of dramatic mountain peaks and alpine forests. The lake is the ideal setting for outdoor pursuits such as biking, fishing, kayaking and walking. Lake Wakatipu is 84 kilometres (52 miles) long and extends for 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) at its widest point. Māori legend states that the lake formed after a giant was burnt to death and thus scorched a huge hole by melting the ice of the nearby mountains.

If you go to the outskirts of Queenstown you will find a small peninsula on Lake Wakatipu which is home to the splendid Queenstown Gardens. Since 1867, this tranquil retreat has been a peaceful counterweight to the town’s busy streets. Visit the gardens to see heritage-listed trees and a number of other native and foreign species of flower, shrubs and plants. The first trees in the garden – mighty English oaks – were planted by the mayor of Queenstown in 1866 and the area’s most prominent tree species, the Douglas fir, was introduced here during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Over a hundred years ago, New Zealand Railways commissioned shipbuilders McGregor and Company to build the TSS Earnslaw Steamship. The parts for the ship were built in Dunedin and then transported to Lake Wakatipu to be assembled, and the completed ship has been serving the people of Queenstown and its many visitors ever since. The steamship travels back and forth between Queenstown and Walter Peak High Country Farm over 11 months of the year.

It is due to the prominence of its bigger brother Lake Wakatipu that the more solitary, placid Moke Lake is visited by a comparably small number of tourists. Moke Lake lays a 10-kilometre drive from Queenstown, and its stunning location surrounded by mountains makes it the perfect destination for active people who want to swim, kayak, bike or hike. The three-hour trail between Moke Lake and Lake Dispute which winds through gentle hills, verdant Douglas fir forests and wide grassy plains is a particularly popular one, especially because it leads walkers much of the way back to Queenstown.