South Island

Otago

Best timeEvery season works: summer for lakes and walks, April for autumn colour, June to September for skiing at Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona and Treble Cone.

Getting thereQueenstown Airport has flights from Australia and the main New Zealand cities; Dunedin has its own airport.

Main townsQueenstown, Wānaka, Arrowtown, Cromwell, Alexandra, Dunedin, Oamaru

Queenstown’s mountains and lakes, Wānaka’s calm, the gold-rush towns and Pinot Noir of Central Otago, and Dunedin’s wildlife-rich peninsula: Otago has more variety than almost anywhere in the country.

Highlights

Queenstown Bungy (commercial bungy began here in 1988), jet boats, gondolas, skiing and lake cruises.
Wānaka A quieter lake town with Roys Peak, Mount Aspiring National Park and that famous lakeside tree.
Central Otago Pinot Noir cellar doors, Arrowtown’s autumn colours and the Otago Central Rail Trail (about 150 km).
Otago Peninsula Royal albatross at Taiaroa Head, penguins and fur seals near Dunedin.
Dunedin Victorian and Edwardian architecture, a student buzz and a great food scene.

Best time to go

Every season works: summer for lakes and walks, April for autumn colour, June to September for skiing at Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona and Treble Cone.

Getting there

Queenstown Airport has flights from Australia and the main New Zealand cities; Dunedin has its own airport. Queenstown is about six hours’ drive from Christchurch.