Republic of Waiver Forms
“It’s perfectly normal to jump off buildings, planes, canyons and bridges in New Zealand,” writes the Globe and Mail’s Robin Esrock. “No other country compels visitors — of all ages — to push their…
Tag Archives: Queenstown
Frontier Travel
“Driven by an adventurous national spirit and blessed with an extraordinarily rugged landscape that calls to adrenaline addicts like a jungle gym calls to children, New Zealanders and visiting foreigners have pioneered an impressive…
Queenstown Todo
As the brochures boast: “Whether you crave adventure daily, or just like to have your pants scared off occasionally, you will find what you are looking for” in Queenstown. There’s a vibrant nightlife, with…
Leap over loveliness
Crammed in a small plane nearing 4m above the “gorgeously rustic” Bay of Islands, The Sydney Morning Herald’s Steve McKenna is about to throw himself out into the blue. “Peering out of a little…
Spending up on fun
“As the brochures proudly boast: ‘Whether you crave adventure daily, or just like to have your pants scared off occasionally, you will find what you are looking for’ in Queenstown,” Alan Ferguson reports for…
Ride of Your Life
Heli-biking in Queenstown is “an exhilarating experience and a must for anyone visiting” the southern city, recommends the Telegraph’s Tarquin Cooper. “Visit New Zealand for rest, relaxation and rugby; unless, you’re a die-hard who…
Where the locals go
“Sometimes in New Zealand the differences between us and them become much greater than a few murky vowel sounds and divided rugby and cricket loyalties,” The Australian’s Nicole Jeffery writes. Driving SUVs in snow…
Anything but the Bungy
Lyttelton-based Joe Bennett, author of Hello Dubai: Skiing, Sand and Shopping in the World’s Weirdest City, tells the Telegraph why Queenstown is his kind of town. “It’s the main visitor town of New Zealand’s…
Queenstown’s Quiet Side
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Sarah Maguire visits “adrenalin-central”, but goes against-the-grain with a laid-back luxurious holiday. “Being a full-time working mother puts adrenalin into the system daily, so I don’t need that…
Bevan Honoured in NY
Queenstown-born, London-based Academy Award-nominated film producer Tim Bevan will be presented with a career tribute at the 19th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York on November 30. Bevan has worked as producer…
Small Screen Project
Waikato-born executive chef de cuisine, head of Gordon Ramsay’s North American operations and New Zealand’s first Michelin star winner Josh Emett, 36, will document his rise to culinary fame in a documentary called Chef…
Face to Face on the South’s Slopes
Western Australia Today has pit two of New Zealand’s banner ski resorts against each other to see whether Wanaka or Queenstown really has it all. Combing through the views, nightlife, food, accommodations, and skiing,…
Paddock To Plate
New Zealand chefs and consumers are increasingly embracing diverse homegrown produce, with Queenstown’s Saffron restaurant at the forefront of this “quiet revolution” explains Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service. Sourced from the restaurant’s surrounding environs is…
Winter Bar-Hopping
Queenstown’s “bar scene can match any city for quantity, variety and quality and the disarming sincerity of this cold town’s warm heart is impossible to resist,” writes West Australia Today’s Amy Cooper on a…
Leap of faith
Paragliding in Queenstown is, for Victoria Advocate reporter Aprill Brandon, “like jumping out of a plane with only a fourth of your parachute … and in New Zealand where there are no such silly…
Home sweet home
“The time has come to learn from Down Under,” where homes have sustainable features “light years ahead of the curve,” are “modestly scaled and unpretentious, employ an original aesthetic language, and without fail, offer…
Alveridge Animated
The rights to Queenstown artist Ivan Clarke’s Lonely Dog picture book — “a series of paintings featuring a lonesome-looking pooch” and his friends in the mythical world of Alveridge — has been bought by…
Southern Adventures
Queenstown is a land made for thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies, with canyon swings, bungee jumping from bridges, G-force acrobatic flights, and paragliding, just for starters. Say you’re an average mountain biker and you’ll…
Facebook’em
Queenstown police have caught a burglar by posting footage of a man trying to break into a safe on the social networking site Facebook. The burglar broke into the Franklin Tavern in Queenstown and…
For Sale in Central Otago
Queenstown’s 3,000-acre Closeburn Station features in The New York Times international property listings this week. “This six-bedroom three-bath contemporary home has a master suite with views of Cecil Peak. The home’s family wing…
Relaxed in the South
There is more to Queenstown that diving off bridges and screaming down slopes on snowboards. There is, according to the Irish Independent’s Mary O’Sullivan, a “super holiday destination” leaving the visitor “perpetually awestruck.” Queenstown…
Big Red Excitement
Queenstown’s Shotover Jet is described by Washington Post reporter Barbara Bradlyn Morris, as one of a number of thrilling tourism activities available for kicks in the “Home of Extreme Sports and Hearty Sun-Bronzed Young…
More than shelter
The “Mai Mai” house in Ponsonby (above) and the clubhouse at The Hills golf course in Queenstown (below), both designed by Auckland-based architects Patterson Associates, have been named finalists for October’s World…
Corporate Iwi Unite
Divided into four tribes: kea, ruru, tui, and weka, 200 employees of US firm Seagate Technologies face the elements in the mountains above Queenstown in a week-long “mother of all of team-building events”. CEO…
Legacy Well Spent
In a helicopter from Queenstown and beyond, over Lake Whakatipu and the Remarkables and then down through Milford Sound, The Mail’s John Stapleton is spending his son’s inheritance on New Zealand scenery. Queenstown is:…
Six Spots Bluelisted
Six NZ tourist attractions made Lonely Planet’s 2008 Bluelist, an annual collection of the world’s “hottest trends, destinations, journeys and experiences.” Jetboating Queenstown’s Shotover River is featured as one of the great river trips,…
Power Producers
Queenstown-born film producer Tim Bevan (right) features in Vanity Fair‘s annual ‘New Establishment’ power rankings, along with business partner Eric Fellner. Bevan and Fellner founded British film powerhouse Working Title in 1984….
Three Ways to See NZ
Three travel articles on NZ appeared in North American newspapers this month, each offering a different way to experience Aotearoa. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Naomi Koppel chose to tramp around the South Island, taking in “one breathtaking vista…
Been There, Done That
A selection of readers’ NZ travel tips appeared in the Guardian‘s travel pages this month. The information was gathered from the newspaper’s “I’ve been there” website, which features six pages of travellers’ suggestions for Aotearoa. The tips…
Adventure Sports in Aotearoa
A Telegraph feature on NZ adventure tourism gives a comprehensive overview of the range of activities on offer. Tourist operators specialising in adventure sports have moved beyond Queenstown’s borders and can now be found all over the…
Après Vous
Queenstown has been named one of the world’s top ten après ski destinations in the Sydney Morning Herald. “The 120 licensed establishments in this lakeside town are brought to you by the letter ‘B’ where…
New Era for NZ Golf Open
Jeweller Michael Hill’s private golf club has been unveiled as the NZ Open venue for the next three years. Designed by landscape architect John Darby, the Hills Golf Club covers 202 hectares of land in Arrowtown, just…
Blanket Bay Among World’s Best
Queenstown’s Blanket Bay Lodge has been selected as the best lodge in the world by the US Discovery Travel & Living channel. Blanket Bay will feature on Discovery’s new Five-Star Insider series alongside the world’s best…
Action Packed Queenstown
A self-confessed lazy New Yorker experiences adventure tourism NZ-style in Queenstown. The Skyline luge run is the highlight of a three-day trip which includes and air and sea tour of Milford Sound, skydiving and…
A Day to Get There, a Lifetime to Forget
A Guardian travel feature on the South Island covers a remarkable range of quintessential Kiwi activities in just ten days. From extreme sports in Queenstown and the grandeur of the TranzAlpine Express, to eco-relaxation at Lake Moeraki’s…
Spoiled for choice
Kiwi chef Rex Morgan takes Guardian food writer Jonathan Ray on a culinary tour of Queenstown. The eating extravaganza takes place at Morgan’s recently opened boutique hotel, The Spire (competitors will be “hard-pressed to…
Best Put to the Test
Travel & Leisure writer sniffs out the best luxury retreats in NZ – a country where “everyone is a hotelier, or so it can sometimes seem.” After testing the waters at Eagle’s Nest (Russell), Otahuna Lodge…
Front Row Seats
7 middle-aged American couples travel from Queenstown to Christchurch by bike, running out of synonyms for awesome in the process. “If you’re in good enough shape to walk six or seven miles, you can handle the bike…
Southern Bookmarks
Four American students embarked on a voyage of self-discovery against the backdrop of NZ’s South Island. After taking in such “must-sees” as Queenstown, Franz Josef Glacier, and Milford Sound, the four would ” back a few…
Four in Twenty Ain’t Bad
Four NZ estates made the top 20 international accommodation list in Andrew Harper’s annual Hideaway Report; Blanket Bay (Queenstown), Huka Lodge (Taupo), Wharekauhau (Wairarapa), and Kauri Cliffs (Bay of Islands). ” is proof that the quality of…
Picturesque Plunge
In a feature on celebrity hobbies, the Observer advises fans of sky-diving enthusiast Nicole Kidman to head to Queenstown. After all, “if you’re going to take the plunge, you might as well do it at one of…
World’s Best Head 42-Below
The first ever Cocktail World Cup was held in Queenstown over the Winter Festival, which began June 25. The 5-day event is the brainchild of NZ’s 42- Below vodka, which recently won gold at the World Spirits…
Queenstown: Thrill Mecca
The will to thrill Kiwi-style shows no signs of subsiding, with bungy related features by the BBC and Observer, and one covering the full adventure spectrum – from tandem parapenting to fly-by-wire – in the Straits Times….
Alternative Slopes
Scotsman feature urges snow bunnies further afield than the Alps and Rockies, recommending NZ alongside Iran, Alaska and Chile as a desirable alternative. “The Alps that run spine-like through the South Island are dotted with ski resorts. Mt…
X-treme for the Faint of Heart
Washington Post reporter goes tandem skydiving in Queenstown, one of the “softer” sports on offer in the home of X-treme: “somewhere between hot-air ballooning and needle-pointing … I survived without a scratch, or a grass stain. How’s…
Glisten Like a Pearl …
NZ locales and services scored points with international tourists in the annual Condé Nast Readers Choice Awards, the most prestigious and comprehensive poll of its kind. Christchurch and Queenstown ranked highly on the friendliness test, with 90.5 and…
Charting the Edge
Sydney’s Morning Herald publishes its 2003 top-10 lists for global rovers with Aotearoa again destination du jour. The chart toppers – Wine: Marlborough (“with its combination of bush, mountains and coastline … Cloudy Bay, Cairnrae and Allan…
You Won’t Need a Blanket
Australia’s Sunday Telegraph stays at a hi-end bach: “Welcome to Blanket Bay, a spectacular lakeshore lodge hideaway 40 minutes’ drive north from Queenstown. It’s the paradise dream retreat of Tom Tusher, former worldwide president and CEO of…
Superior Slopes
Mt Ruapehu makes the top five in pro-boarder Neil McNaab’s list of favourite descents. “While most people head to the South Island and the areas around Queenstown, the snow-clad volcano Mount Ruapehu makes the North Island…
Keeping Up Appearances
New York Times heads to NZ to find out if the hype is for real and are pleasantly surprised. “Always seen as ‘clean and green,’ NZ is enjoying a special premium at the moment as Americans…
Eichardt’s en Vogue
Australian Vogue‘s A-Z of deluxe travel destinations includes the historic Eichardt’s Private Hotel in Queenstown. Built in 1873 and recently refurbished by new owners, Eichardt’s contains “a series of luxurious interiors, with a clever melange of…
Dr Grant, I presume?
Sam Neill has hinted he will reprise his role as Dr Grant in Steven Spielberg’s fourth Jurassic Park installment. The Queenstown-based actor is sufficiently impressed by the script that he would consider ” his…
Queenstown on Cruise Control
“Adrenalin, who needs it?” John Westbrooke discovers the secret to an enjoyable Queenstown holiday for over-60’s, recommending cheese-tasting, wine tours, and gondolier rides over the ubiquitous bungee jump. Not an extreme sport in sight!
“Sweet As”
Next stop Queenstown – “an adrenalin-fuelled, hyperactive, big scream of a town where tourists go for one of two reasons: either to jump from a plane, mountain or bridge, or to watch others do…
Yankee Dangle
Want thrills? Inhale the air head to Queenstown for “utter exhilaration” and the town Bill Clinton called the “most beautiful place on earth.”
Jumped
A.J. Hackett – the edge entrepreneur and adrenalin junkie who took bungee from a bridge in Queenstown to the world – profiled as pioneering legend of ‘American'(!) adventure sport in this month’s Vanity Fair.
