Queenstown

The 25-Minute Drive to Gibbston Valley Is the Part of Queenstown Nobody Talks About Enough

Queenstown markets itself on the bungy jump at Kawarau Bridge, and that is a legitimate experience: AJ Hackett opened the world’s first commercial operation here in 1988 at 43 metres, and the historical weight of the site gives it a different character than newer jumps. But drive 25 minutes east through the Kawarau Gorge and you arrive in Gibbston Valley, the world’s southernmost commercial wine region. The valley runs past more than 75 wineries – including Gibbston Valley Winery with New Zealand’s largest wine cave – producing Pinot Noir at a latitude winemakers once dismissed as too cold for serious red viticulture. They were badly wrong, and the Pinot coming out of Central Otago is now some of the most distinctive in the world.

You can do a 134-metre bungy jump and drink a properly interesting glass of Pinot Noir within the same afternoon. Not many adventure destinations offer that combination.

Queenstown sits on Lake Wakatipu in the Southern Alps, a town of fewer than 50,000 permanent residents surrounded by ski fields, glacial lakes, and river canyons. The concentration of things to do in a small physical space is genuinely unmatched in the southern hemisphere. The place can feel expensive and crowded when school holidays stack against ski season; plan around those dates and it opens up considerably.

The Activities

Bungy: the Kawarau Bridge (43 metres) is the historical reference, but the Nevis Bungy at 134 metres over a remote side canyon is the one that recalibrates your sense of scale. The Nevis Swing – a 300-metre arc rather than a free fall – suits those who want the altitude without the vertical drop. Both are operated by AJ Hackett.

Jet boating: the Shotover Jet has run commercially since 1967, sprinting through narrow red-rock canyons in the world’s longest-running commercial jet-boat service. The Dart River jet boat adds a remote wilderness backdrop in the upper valley.

White-water rafting: the Shotover and Kawarau river runs include a 170-metre former gold miners’ tunnel passage on the Shotover Canyons route, which feels significantly more dramatic than it sounds on the page.

Skiing: Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona, and Treble Cone near Wanaka form one of the southern hemisphere’s best ski clusters. Season runs late June through early October.

Gibbston Valley Properly

If you are going to the valley for wine, rent a bicycle from the Gibbston Valley Cycle Centre and ride the flat Gibbston River Trail that links several cellar doors along the gorge. Peregrine, Chard Farm, and Amisfield all have tastings worth stopping for, and the cycle route makes it possible to visit more than one without a driver. Book ahead for the cave tour at Gibbston Valley Winery – 78 metres underground, consistent temperature year-round, and an hour’s education in what Central Otago terroir actually means.

Lake Wakatipu and Arrowtown

The lake is 77 kilometres long, 310 metres deep, and shaped like a distorted Z. The vintage 1912 steamship TSS Earnslaw runs scenic cruises across to Walter Peak High Country Farm. The Remarkables range is one of only two mountain ranges in the world oriented directly north-south, which gives them an unusual light quality in the afternoon.

Arrowtown, 20 minutes northeast, has the best autumn foliage in New Zealand in April and early May, a Lakes District Museum, and a restored Chinese Settlement that honestly addresses the treatment of 19th-century gold miners – more interesting than most visitors expect and worth the detour.

Milford Sound

The day trip from Queenstown is long – around 12 hours by coach and cruise – but Milford Fiord itself, with Mitre Peak rising nearly 1,700 metres directly from the water, is the kind of landscape UNESCO World Heritage status was designed for. Fly one leg by scenic aircraft to cut the coach time. If you have an extra day, Doubtful Sound is less visited and arguably more dramatically scaled.

Eating and Staying

Fergburger on Shotover Street has queued out the door since it opened and the reputation is justified – the burgers are enormous, the ingredients are good, and the price remains reasonable for a tourist town. Rata, Josh Emett’s restaurant in Eichardt’s Private Hotel, focuses on Central Otago produce and is the serious dinner option in town. Amisfield Bistro in Gibbston Valley combines wine country with destination cooking.

Eichardt’s Private Hotel is the boutique lakefront benchmark. Matakauri Lodge and Blanket Bay are among the finest luxury lodges anywhere in New Zealand. QT Queenstown is the designer mid-range option.