Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown | |
|---|---|
 Queenstown Mall | |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Region | Otago |
| Territorial authority | Queenstown Lakes District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Vanessa van Uden |
| Area | |
| • District | 8,704.97 km2 (3,361.01 sq mi) |
| Population (2006 Census) | |
| • Urban | 10,416 |
| • District | 22,956 |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
| Postcode(s) | 9300 |
| Area code | 03 |
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains such as The Remarkables, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak and just above the town; Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill.
William Gilbert Rees, along with fellow explorer Nicholas Von Tunzelman, were the first Europeans to settle the area (the first european to see the Wakatipu basin was Nathanael Chalmers). Rees was in search of pastoral land, and after an initial visit returned in 1860 to establish a high country farm in the location of Queenstown's current town centre. However the Rees’ farming lifestyle was to be short-lived. In 1862 gold was discovered in the Arrow River, a short distance from Queenstown at which point Rees converted his wool shed into a hotel named the Queen's Arms, now known as Eichardt's.
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. According to the 2006 census, the usually resident population of the Queenstown urban area (including Fernhill, Frankton and Kelvin Heights) is 10,416,[1] an increase of 22.1% since 2001.
Its neighbouring towns 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 40,200 (June 2018).[2]
Tourism
A resort town, Queenstown is a centre for adventure tourism. Skiing, jet boating, whitewater rafting, bungy jumping, mountain biking, skateboarding, 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). Cross country skiing is also available at the Waiorau Snow Farm, located near the village of Cardrona.
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. Queenstown is also gaining popularity as a honeymoon destination.
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 [1]. Recent international performers include Anika Moa and Di Bird.
Queenstown also has a reputation for being the 'Adventure Capital of the World'.
Queenstown Airport is located 10 km from town[3] and has scheduled flights to Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
Major motion pictures
Queenstown and the surrounding area contains many locations used in the filming of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy as well as the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In early 2010 Queenstown featured for 17 minutes in I Hate Luv Storys a Bollywood Super-hit.
Queenstown was used to film most of the 1988 film The Rescue.
Queenstown was the base for filming the George Lucas 1988 fantasy film Willow.
Filming of the 1981 film Race for the Yankee Zephyr took place in and around Queenstown, the first major motion picture production for the area.
The first and last episodes of the fifth season of The Mole were filmed in Queenstown. In the latter episode, the final three contestants took the final computer quiz on the Kingston Flyer.
Highlights
- Lake Wakatipu - on the Edwardian Steam Ship TSS Earnslaw
- Adventure tourism, jetboats, bungy jump, skiing, river surfing, canyon swing, aerobatic flights, sky diving, mountain biking, paragliding
- Ben Lomond - a 1,748 m (5,735 ft) mountain whose summit is accessible with a few hours easy climbing giving magnificent views over Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding area
- Golfing within New Zealand's best cluster of courses - several of which are rated in the top 10 in New Zealand. Jack's Point, Millbrook Resort, The Hills, Arrowtown Golf Club and Queenstown Golf Club
- Cricket (new One Day International venue) and Golf
- Queenstown Airport at Frankton
- Skyline Gondola and luge
- Queenstown Winter Festival
- Goldmining, Arrowtown, Central Otago history, sheep farming and Walter Peak station.
- Milford Road, Milford Sound / Homer Tunnel, the Fiordland Lakes / Doubtful Sound
- Film locations of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy
- Glenorchy & Routeburn track
Climate
Queenstown, despite a relatively high altitude nestled among mountains and a southerly location, experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb).[4] Summer has long warm days with temperatures that can reach 30°C while winters are cold with temperatures often in single digits with frequent snowfall, although there is no permanent snow cover during the year. As with the rest of Central Otago, Queenstown lies within the rain shadow of the Southern Alps, but being closer to the west coast the town is more susceptible to rain-bearing fronts compared to nearby Cromwell, Wanaka and Alexandra.
| Climate data for Queenstown | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) |
22.7 (72.9) |
19.9 (67.8) |
16.1 (61.0) |
11.9 (53.4) |
8.6 (47.5) |
8.2 (46.8) |
10.3 (50.5) |
13.5 (56.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
18.6 (65.5) |
20.7 (69.3) |
15.8 (60.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) |
10.6 (51.1) |
8.8 (47.8) |
6.2 (43.2) |
3.3 (37.9) |
0.7 (33.3) |
0.1 (32.2) |
1.3 (34.3) |
3.6 (38.5) |
5.6 (42.1) |
7.4 (45.3) |
9.4 (48.9) |
5.6 (42.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 78 (3.1) |
58 (2.3) |
80 (3.1) |
75 (3.0) |
89 (3.5) |
82 (3.2) |
65 (2.6) |
73 (2.9) |
69 (2.7) |
95 (3.7) |
72 (2.8) |
77 (3.0) |
913 (35.9) |
| Source: NIWA Climate Data[5] | |||||||||||||
Transport
Queenstown is accessible by road and air but not by rail.
As a resort centre, there are many bus services that operate into Queenstown, with most being for package tours, but daily services for the local or itinerant are available to and from Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch, which are the main cities closest to Queenstown.
Queenstown has an international airport with flights from Australia by Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar and in particular, from Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney (the frequency is much increased over the ski season and during summer). Domestic flights operate from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Due to sustained growth, expansion of the airport terminal was undertaken in 2005 through 2010.
Queenstown Airport is New Zealand's busiest helicopter base, and is also heavily used for tourist 'flightseeing', especially to Milford Sound and Mount Cook, using both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
The primary road access to the Queenstown area is via State Highway 6 (SH6), which travels from Cromwell through the Kawarau Gorge to Frankton, where a 9 km spur (SH6A) leads to the CBD and connects with the Glenorchy Road. SH6 continues south, crossing the Kawarau river before heading down the eastern side of Lake Wakatipu to Kingston before crossing the provincial boundary and emerging on the plains of Southland, terminating in the city of Invercargill. A difficult road over the Crown Range leads to Cardrona skifield and Wanaka, and is New Zealand's highest paved public road.
Queenstown is the departure point for a large number of day trips to the similarly famous Milford Sound, which entails a return trip of approximately 12 hours. There are scenic flights available to Milford Sound. A return flight, including a two-hour Mitre Peak Cruise, is approximately four hours.
Sister cities
References
- ^ 2006 Census Data, Final counts, Otago Region. Cited population is the sum total of Frankton (Quickstats about Frankton), Kelvin Heights (Quickstats about Kelvin Heights), Sunshine Bay (Quickstats about Sunshine Bay), Queenstown Bay (Quickstats about Queenstown Bay) and Queenstown Hill (Quickstats about Queenstown Hill)
- ^ "Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2019". Statistics New Zealand. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020. For urban areas, "Subnational population estimates (UA, AU), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996, 2001, 2006–18 (2017 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ http://www.bestmountaintowns.com/queenstown/travel-info/
- ^ "Statistics for NZL_Queenstown.Lakes-Queenstown.QL.938310_NIWA". Department of Energy. 2010 [last update]. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - ^ "Climate Data". NIWA. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- Reed, A. W. (2002). The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names. Auckland: Reed Books. ISBN 0-7900-0761-4.
External links
