Excursions from Queenstown

Using Queenstown as your touring base, you can explore this historic district by boat, plane, motorcoach, fourwheel drive vehicle, gondola, chair lift even by horseback. Your main problem may be deciding what to do first among the bewildering array of activities.

Popular excursions fill rapidly, so book early. Some tours are seasonal; others require a minimum number of participants. You can obtain current tour information and make reservations at booking offices bordering the Mall at the foot of Ballarat Street.

Sightseeing by bus and plane

After you've explored Queenstown on foot, it's time to venture farther afield. Half day bus excursions depart from Queenstown for Coronet Peak, Skippers Canyon, Arrowtown, Waterfall Park, Deer Park Heights, and Goldfields Town. A fullday trip follows the lake road from Queenstown to Glenorchy and on to the Routeburn Valley.

For another full day sightseeing trip, you can depart from Queenstown on the early Railways Road Services bus, travel through farming country to Te Anau, continue on the Milford Road to Milford, have lunch and take a launch trip on Milford Sound, and return to Te Anau by dinner time (or continue back to Queenstown, if you prefer).

Scenic flights departing from Queenstown's airport fly over Lake Wakatipu and the rugged mountainous country to the west. On a round trip flight to Milford Sound, you pass over the Milford Track and experience eye level views of Sutherland Falls and snowy peaks. Helicopter flights range from short trips over Queenstown to an excursion into the high peaks of The Remarkables.

Boat trips galore

You can cruise Lake Wakatipu on a sturdy old steamship, speed across the water on a hydrofoil, skim through scenic river gorges in a jet boat, float leisurely with the current aboard a raft, glide silently in a canoe, or charter a boat for a few hours of fishing.

Lake steamer. The grand old lady of the lake is the T.S.S. Earnslaw, a white painted, coal burning steamship that made her debut on Lake Wakatipu in 1912. Last of the steamship fleet that once plied the lake, she makes morning and afternoon cruises to Mount Nicholas Station and a lunch cruise up Frankton Arm from late October to midMay. A dinner cruise is added in summer.

Jet boat trips. Several Queenstown operators offer an array of exciting trips on Otago's historic gold bearing rivers. You can shoot white water rapids through the narrow canyon of the Shotover River or skim the waters of the Kawarau River through the Kawarau Gorge. One excursion combines jet boat travel on both rivers.

If you crave even more excitement, you can choose an outing combining a jet boat ride with helicopter sightseeing, river rafting, or a hydrofoil trip.

Hydrofoil. Departing from the wharf at the foot of the mall, the 17 passenger hydrofoil Meteor III takes passengers on a one hour, 40 km/25 mile cruise on Lake Wakatipu. Speeding along smoothly on its foils with its hull above the water, the boat passes lakeside sheep stations and mountain scenery in the upper reaches of the lake. During school holiday periods, shorter trips depart at frequent intervals. Raft and canoe trips. From September through May, you can raft down the Shotover or Kawarau rivers on trips ranging in length from 2 hours to a full day. Or you can paddle your own canoe on a 3 hour safari down the

Kawarau. Without noise or fuel fumes, you float downstream past pine studded cliffs and grazing livestock as you savor views of the valley and distant mountains. Overnight rafting trips on more remote rivers are also available.

Fishing expeditions. If fishing is your passion, you can charter a boat and guide for a few hours or a full day of trolling on Lake Wakatipu or fly fishing on one of the local rivers. All equipment is provided by the guide.