An Island south of the North Island of New Zealand
Flying over Queenstown, NZ
Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown is a international resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin lake formed by glacial processes that is shaped like a staggered lightning bolt, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains.
There are various apocryphal accounts of how the town was named, the most popular suggesting that a local gold digger exclaimed that the town was "fit for Queen Victoria". It is now known for its commerce-oriented tourism, especially adventure and ski tourism. It is popular with young international and New Zealand travellers alike.
The town is the largest centre in Central Otago, and the third largest in Otago. There are a few administrative functions (such as primary healthcare) that are currently administered by the neighbouring province of Southland. According to the 2006 census, the usually resident population of the Queenstown urban area (including Frankton and Kelvin Heights) is 10422[1], an increase of 22.1% since 2001.
Its neighbouring towns and districts include Arrowtown, Wanaka, Alexandra, and Cromwell. The nearest cities are Dunedin and Invercargill.
The Queenstown-Lakes District has a land area of 8,704.97 km² (3,361.01 sq mi) not counting its inland lakes (Lake Hawea, Lake Wakatipu, and Lake Wanaka). It has an estimated resident population of 26,400 (June 2008 estimate).
Tourism
A resort town, Queenstown is a centre for adventure tourism. Skiing, jet boating, bungy jumping, mountain biking, tramping and fly fishing are all strong promotional themes.
Queenstown is a major centre for snow sports in New Zealand, with people from all over the country and many parts of the world travelling to ski at the four main mountain skifields (Cardrona Alpine Resort, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Treble Cone).
A coal fired steamship that is nearly 100 years old, called the TSS Earnslaw, provides tourist trips on the lake.
In recent years, Queenstown's hostels have become a popular destination for tourists from all over the world. Queenstown provides adventure tourism during the day and a vibrant nightlife scene during the evenings.
Locally, Queenstown has a reputation as one of New Zealand's wine and cuisine centres. Neighbouring, historic Arrowtown also features excellent restaurants and bars, and Queenstown lies close to the centre of a small wine producing region, reputed to be the world's southernmost. Pinot noir produced in this area fetches premium prices.
Queenstown also now hosts an annual International Jazz Festival. Recent international performers include Anika Moa and Di Bird.
Queenstown also has a reputation for being the 'Adventure Capital of the World'.
Queenstown Airport has scheduled flights to Auckland, Christchurch and Sydney year-round and Wellington, Melbourne and Brisbane seasonally.
Queenstown and the surrounding area contains many locations used in the filming of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
A church in Queenstown, NZ.
A pedestrian mall in Queenstown
A rainbow outside my hostel
My hostel: The Blacksheep Lodge
Lake Wakatipu
The beautiful NZ countryside
More rainbows
More rainbows
A deer farm
A deer farm
Waterfalls near Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Milford Sound (Piopiotahi in Māori) is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey, and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World
History
Milford Sound was initially overlooked by European explorers, because its narrow entry did not appear to lead into such large interior bays. Sailing ship captains such as James Cook, who bypassed Milford Sound on his journeys for just this reason, also feared venturing too close to the steep mountainsides, afraid that wind conditions would prevent escape. While Fiordland as such remained one of the least-explored areas of New Zealand up to the 20th century, Milford Sound's natural beauty soon attracted national and international renown, and led to the discovery of the McKinnon Pass in 1888, soon to become a part of the new Milford Track, an early walking tourism trail. In the same year, the low watershed saddle between the Hollyford River and the Cleddau River was discovered, where the Homer Tunnel was to be developed about sixty years later to provide road access
Tourism
The beauty of this landscape draws thousands of visitors each day, with over 550,000 in total per year. This makes the sound one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist spots, and also the most famous New Zealand tourist destination, even with its remote location and the long journey from the nearest population centres. Almost all tourists going to the sound also take one of the boat tours which usually last between 1-2 hours. They are offered by several companies, departing from the Milford Sound Visitors' Centre. There is also the option of extended overnight cruises on Milford Sound.
Tramping, canoeing and some other water sports are also possible. A small number of companies also provides overnight boat trips. There is otherwise only limited accommodation at the sound, and only a very small percentage of tourists stay more than the day.
An underwater tourist observatory found in one of the bays of the sound provides viewing of black coral, usually only found in much deeper waters. A dark surface layer of fresh water, stained by tannins from the surrounding forest, allows the corals to grow close to the surface here.
More rainbows
More rainbows
Ascending the Skyline Gondola
Views of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu
Me, Michelle and Luke (Fellow Baylor Alumns I met on the tour)
Mitre Peak, Milford Sound, Queenstown, NZ
Sea Lions
Pretending to jump off the boat
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