Queenstown, New Zealand — Activities
Queenstown Culture
Although culture is certainly not what Queenstown is famous for, there is always something in the way of music or theater on offer and the situation improves greatly during the Winter Festival (see Special Events). Just outside the town center in Frankton, and easily accessible by car or bus, the Queenstown Events Center, Joe O’Connell Drive (tel: (03) 442 3664; website: www.qtevents.co.nz) holds concerts and sporting events. Queenstown Events also run the other major venue in town, the Queenstown Memorial Hall, on Memorial Street, which stages frequent musical and theatrical performances in its large auditorium.
Reading Cinemas, 11-14 The Mall (tel: (03) 442 9990; website: www.readingcinemas.co.nz) is a small theater in the town center which shows all the latest blockbusters. Alternatively, Dorothy Browns, on Buckingham Street in Arrowtown (tel: (03) 442 1968; website: www.dorothybrowns.com) is a classy boutique cinema showing quality mainstream and art house films, where moviegoers leave their spacious seats in the old-fashioned intermission for a glass of excellent local wine at the bar.
Queenstown and the surrounding areas are popular with filmmakers and have featured in several movies of late, including Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. To find out more about filmmaking in this part of New Zealand, visit www.filmqueenstown.com
Queenstown Tours
A plethora of tour companies provide all manner of ways in which to explore Queenstown and its surrounds. Guided half and full day nature walks in the Wakatipu Basin and Mount Aspiring National Park are run by New Zealand Guided Nature Walks (tel: (03) 442 7126; website: www.nzwalks.com).
Undoubtedly the best, but unfortunately also the most expensive, way to see Queenstown and the surrounding area is from the air. Trilogy Trail’s (tel: (03) 442 2207; website: www.trilogytrail.com) range of Lord of the Rings location-focused tours include some where the main mode of transportation is small Glenorchy Air planes. For those who want to travel in true style, The Helicopter Line (tel: (03) 442 3034 or 0800 500 575; website: www.helicopter.co.nz) offers the chance to see dramatic views of the region’s lakes, mountains and glaciers.
The coal-fired steamer TSS Earnslaw (tel: (03) 249 7416; website: www.realjourneys.co.nz) conducts nostalgic cruises around Lake Wakatipu three times a day.
