QUEENS TOWN
This alpine destination bursts into brilliant life when the slopes thaw, writes Kate Barracosa.
Lake Wakatipu is magnetic. From first light into night it draws Queenstown locals and visitors alike, who skirt its shores and skim its surface on jet boats, kayaks, paddleboards and even a century-old steamboat. The sound of water lapping against the smooth stones of Queenstown Bay is the town’s heartbeat; Maori legend attributes the waterline’s half-hourly rise and fall to the slow and steady pulse of the mythical giant Matau, who rests on its floor.
Spring here is a fine balance. Skiers can still descend the slopes with the final flurries of the season but the rise in mercury – up to 22°C on a bluebird day – means hiking and biking trails lose their slip and are bordered by wild thyme and daffodils in October and tall stems of lupin in the last weeks of November (an invasive species but a pretty pest nonetheless).
The compact CBD is quiet in the morning, as adventurers scatter to hurl themselves off a bridge or cliff on bungee cords, swings and zip-lines, or careen through a canyon on a raft or mountain bike. Even as the streets start to fill in the afternoon, the crowds don’t reach the crush of summer and winter – there’s still a queue for a famous Fergburger but it’s much more manageable. Sunlit hours stretch out, making it possible to take a scenic flight to Milford Sound in the morning, traverse the lake in the afternoon aboard the vintage steamer TSS Earnslaw and be back to enjoy cocktails while watching the sun dip between crags on the far side of the lake. Queenstown is a natural playground – here’s how to play.