Queenstown Township

Sort Your Parking First

Look, Queenstown is NZ's resort town and it delivers on the fun stuff. But driving a campervan into the centre? Don't do it. The traffic is a nightmare, genuinely worse than anywhere except maybe Auckland or Wellington. The move is to base yourself at one of the holiday parks and work from there. Creeksyde is a short walk through the reserve into town. Driftaway is a bit further out but genuinely one of the best holiday parks in the country, and the ferry into town is way more fun than sitting in traffic anyway. If you do need to bring the van in, Boundary Street Carpark is your only real option.

The Activities Are Real Here

Queenstown throws a lot at you, paid adventure stuff especially. If you're going to splash out, the TSS Earnslaw cruise to Walter Peak Station is genuinely worth it, the buffet dinner on top of what's already a great cruise. Some good friends of mine who've done food tours around NZ for years still rate it as their top Queenstown pick. The RANKERS promo code gets you a discount on jet boating and rafting if you're keen on the adrenaline side of things, and it works on scenic flights too if you want to see the area from above.

Get Up Early for Ben Lomond

The Ben Lomond hike is a big day out, solid ascent, but the views at the top are worth every bit of it. The thing is, it gets busy fast once the gondola starts dropping hikers up the hill around 9.30-10am. Leave early, beat that crowd. On the way back, the Fernhill trail is a better option than the Tiki Trail which gets properly clogged through the day. If crowds really aren't your thing, there's plenty of great views further out from town.

Eating and the Rest

Food scene here is solid. Margo's for Mexican, Blue Kanu for Pacific-Asian, there's heaps of choice and most of it is decent. Free camping near the centre is basically a no-go, the bylaw situation is murky and the locals aren't keen on it. Your best low-cost options are Moke Lake about 40 minutes out, or Kingston Lake to the south, though that one gets absolutely packed. Give Glenorchy serious thought too if you want to escape the Queenstown circus for a night.