Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
QUEENSTOWN FOR CHILDREN
While Queenstown is brimming with activities, some of them have age restrictions that may exclude the youngest
in your group. Nevertheless, you shouldn't have any trouble keeping the littlies busy.
All-age attractions include Kiwi Birdlife Park (
Click here
)
, lake cruises on the TSS
Earnslaw
(
Click here
) and
4WD tours of narrow, snaking Skippers Canyon (
Click here
). Queenstown Gardens (
Click here
) has a good
beachside playground near the entrance on Marine Pde. Also in the park, Queenstown Ice Arena (
Click here
) is
great for a rainy day, and there's Frisbee Golf (
Click here
)
. The Skyline Gondola (
Click here
) offers a slow-mov-
ing activity from dizzying heights. Small children can also ride the luge (
Click here
) with an adult but need to be
greater than 110cm in height and six years old to go it alone.
For a high that will make sugar rushes seem passé, a surprising number of activities cater to little daredevils.
Children as young as two can take a tandem ride with Queenstown Paraflights (
Click here
), provided the smallest
harness fits them. Family Adventures (
Click here
)
runs gentler rafting trips suitable for anyone over three. Five-
year-olds can take a wilder ride on the Shotover Jet (
Click here
) and six-year-olds can tackle the ziplines with
Ziptrek Ecotours (
Click here
)
. Fearless 10-year-olds can bungy or swing at any of AJ Hackett's jumps (
Click
here
), except the Nevis Bungy (minimum age 13).
Several places in town hire out tandem bicycles and child-sized mountain bikes. Queenstown Bike Hire (
Click
here
) also rents foot scooters and baby buggies, plus toboggans in winter.
For more ideas and information - including details of local babysitters - see the i-SITE (
Click here
) or
Sleeping
Queenstown has endless accommodation options, but midpriced rooms are hard to come
by. The hostels, however, are extremely competitive, offering ever-more extras to win cus-
tom - they're worth considering even if it's not usually your thing. Places book out and
prices rocket during the peak summer (December to February) and ski (June to Septem-
ber) seasons; book well in advance.
variety of holiday homes and apartments on its website, with prices ranging from around
$150 to $2000 per night; a minimum stay of three nights applies.
Nearby
DOC campsites
(adult/child $6/3)
include
Twelve Mile Delta
MAP
, 11km out of town to-
wards Glenorchy, and Skippers, near Coronet Peak.
Central Queenstown
Adventure Queenstown
MAP
HOSTEL
$
GOOGLE MAP
