Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, New Zealand is the perfect destination for International tourists to visit. Queenstown is the location to visit all the year round. It is situated beside Lake Wakatipu which is in the Southern Lakes district of New Zealand, and the snow capped mountains can be seen in winter in all its beauty. Queenstown is the ultimate in the world for outdoor action, and adventure. You can do skiing in the winter and other activities like bungee jumping, sky diving, horse trekking, and river rafting all the year round. You can enjoy cycling on picturesque tracks to the backcountry trails. Queenstown is known as the Adventure Capital of the World.

History

This area was first known to the Maori tribe, and the Europeans arrived there in the year 1860. William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelmann were the first Europeans to settle in this area. Rees built a farm in this locality of Queenstown in 1860, but in 1862 gold was found in the Arrow river, and Rees converted his shed into a hotel and named it Queen’s Arms, is now known as Eichardt’s. Numerous roads in Queenstown have names from the era of gold mining, and some historic structures still stand in Queenstown.

Tourism

Known as the resort town, Queenstown has around 220 adventure tourism activities like, Skiing , Snowboarding, paragliding, sky gliding, paragliding, jet boating, white water rafting, bungee jumping and mountain biking, to name a few. Queenstown is a main place for snow sports in New Zealand, and people from New Zealand , and from all parts of the world travel to ski at the four major mountain ski fields, Cardrona Alpine resort, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Treple Cone, and cross country skiing is also obtainable at the Waiorau Snowfarm close to the Cardrona village. TSS Earnslaw a 100 year old twin screw coal fired steamer travels in Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown is in the close proximity of the wine producing area, the two vineyards are owned by the actor Sam Neil. The neighboring town of Arrowtown has many restaurants and bars. Queenstown holds many festivals like the Bike Festival, Winter Festival and the Jazz Festival.

Queenstown and the and the neighboring areas are famous film shootings, for films like Lord of the Rings, Hindi Feature film Kaho Na Pyar Hai, I Hate Luv Stories, and the Willow, to name a few.

Climate

Queenstown is positioned on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, and a few 100 meters away are the centers for skiing and Snowboarding. Because of its elevation, and its high mountain background, has an oceanic climate. The summers are hot upto 30 degrees centigrade and the winters are cold, with temperatures as low as 9 degrees centigrade.

Transport

Queenstown can be reached by road and by air but not by railways. As it is a resort centre, many bus services are available into Queenstown. Queenstown also has an International Airport and an Helicopter base. The main road into Queenstown is through the Highway 6 heading to the eastern side of Lake Wakatipu.

Relaxation

You can indulge yourself by visiting regions wineries, select from the 120 bars and restaurants, and relish the local chocolates, beer and wines. Do your shopping in the very stylish shopping centers and also relax at the luxury spas to perk up your mind, body and soul.