Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.skyline.co.nz
;
Brecon St; adult/child return $27/16)
Hop aboard for fantastic views. At
the top there's the inevitable cafe, restaurant, souvenir shop and observation deck, as well
as the Queenstown Bike Park (
Click here
) and Skyline Luge (
Click here
)
. At night there
are Maori culture shows from Kiwi Haka (
Click here
)
and stargazing tours (including
gondola adult/child $79/39).
Walking trails include a loop track through the Douglas firs (30 minutes return). The
energetic (or frugal) can forgo the gondola and hike to the top on the Tiki Trail (
Click
Activities
A baffling array of activities is offered by a baffling number of shops in the town centre.
It's even more confusing due to the fact that some shops change their name from winter
to summer, some run multiple activities from the same shop, and some activities are
branded differently but are actually the same thing. Several places call themselves in-
formation centres, but only the i-SITE (
Click here
) is the true, independent, official in-
formation centre.
If you're planning on tackling several activities, various combination tickets are avail-
able, including those offered by
Queenstown Combos
(
03-442 7318;
www.combos.co.nz
)
.
MAORI NZ: QUEENSTOWN
& WANAKA
The same transition from moa-hunter to Waitaha, to Ngati Mamoe to Ngai Tahu
rule took place here as in other parts of the South Island. Lake Wakatipu is
shrouded in legend, and sites to its north were highly valued sources of green-
stone.
The Ngai Tahu iwi(tribe) owns Shotover Jet (
Click here
)
and Dart River Jet Safar-
is (
Click here
)
, the latter of which involves a cultural component. Other cultural in-
sights are offered by Kiwi Haka (
Click here
), who perform nightly atop the gondola,
and Million Dollar Cruise's Maori culture trips (
Click here
)
.
Tramping & Climbing
Pick up the
Wakatipu Walks
brochure ($5) from the Department of Conservation (DOC)
for local tramping tracks ranging from easy one-hour strolls to tough eight-hour slogs.
