Queenstown, the quiet side

Queenstown has a quiet side, and it is the one we plan around: a deep blue lake, two wine valleys, a gold town twenty minutes away, and a road that follows the water until the mountains close in. All of it lies within an hour of the lakefront. Most of our journeys give Queenstown three nights, and this is what fills them.

What is Queenstown?

A small town on a bay of Lake Wakatipu, 310 metres (1,017ft) above sea level, with the Remarkables standing straight up behind it. William Rees came over the Crown Range in 1860 looking for sheep country and found it here. Gold was found in the Shotover River soon after, and by 1863 the farm had become a town.

The adventure it is famous for came much later. The first commercial bungy jump in the world was made from the Kawarau Bridge on 12 April 1988, and jet boats have run the Shotover since 1965. Both are still there for anyone who wants them.

What is the lake like?

Lake Wakatipu is about 75 kilometres (47 miles) long, bent into a long S, and up to 380 metres (1,250ft) deep, which puts its floor below sea level. Its level rises and falls by around 12 centimetres (5in) in a slow, regular rhythm. In the Māori telling, the lake is the hollow left by a sleeping giant, Matau, and the pulse is his heart, still beating.

One way onto it is the TSS Earnslaw, a coal-fired steamship that made her maiden voyage on 18 October 1912, the year of the Titanic. She crosses to Walter Peak, a high-country station on the far shore, under the Remarkables and Cecil Peak. Another is a private boat early in the day, before the town is awake.

Where is the wine?

Gibbston is 25 minutes east, where the Kawarau River runs through a gorge of schist and the vines climb the north-facing slopes above it. It is the highest part of Central Otago, New Zealand's southernmost wine region, which sits at 45 degrees south and gives more than three quarters of its vineyard to pinot noir. Carry on through the gorge and you reach Bannockburn, among the warmest and driest sites in the region.

A day here takes in the cellars, one of them underground, and a long lunch among the vines. Our guide to Central Otago pinot noir names the producers worth the drive, and the Central Otago page covers the country beyond them.

What is Arrowtown?

The gold town, twenty minutes from the lake. Gold was found in the Arrow River in 1862 by Jack Tewa, a Māori shearer, and thousands of miners followed. Their cottages are still there, along a main street planted with oaks, sycamores and elms.

Five minutes' walk away is the Chinese settlement, restored huts and Ah Lum's store, from the years after 1869 when Chinese miners were invited to work the claims others had left. It is a quiet, affecting place. In April and May the trees turn the whole town red and gold, and that is the time to come.

What is at the head of the lake?

Glenorchy, 45 minutes along the shore on a road worth driving for its own sake. The Dart River comes down from the glaciers, the beech forest at Paradise stood in for Lothlórien in The Lord of the Rings, and the Routeburn Track, one of the Great Walks, begins up the valley. A private guide can take you along its first stretch.

Where do you eat?

In the Michelin Guide's first New Zealand restaurant selection, in 2026, the only restaurant in the country awarded two stars was in Queenstown: Essence. Amisfield, Rātā and Sherwood each hold one. Our piece on the Michelin Guide in New Zealand explains what the stars mean here.

Where do we stay?

• Matakauri Lodge. On the lake a short drive from town, facing the Remarkables across the water. Two Michelin Keys.
• Azur Lodge. Nine freestanding villas with floor-to-ceiling views of the lake. One Michelin Key.
• The Rees Hotel. On the lakeshore, closer to town.

Which one depends on the journey. The Masterpiece, The Discovery and The Epicurean stay at Matakauri, The Expedition at Azur, The Hidden Trail and The Southern Heart at The Rees. Matakauri and Azur are both in our guide to Michelin Key lodges and hotels.

When should you come?

Summer, December to February, brings days of 20 to 30°C (68 to 86°F), with dawn as early as five and dusk close to ten. Autumn is the gold season at Arrowtown. Winter is for skiing, from mid-June to early October, with the nearest field about twenty minutes from town. Our month-by-month guide covers the rest of the country.

On most of our journeys one day here goes to Milford Sound, by helicopter over the Alps, and another is left open for you to choose. The Queenstown page shows how it sits in each one.

We would keep one morning with nothing in it. The lake changes colour by the hour, and the town will still be there if you want it.